by CC Dragon
Bran nodded. “I agree. I looked into your uncle and his family. Vin was well known, and people trusted him. He’s mostly retired, now, and he deserves that. The gypsies do police themselves more or less. Your friend in the basement is not a gypsy.”
“No. I wonder how some of them get into it. Like my dad,” I said.
“Your dad was a hunter?” he asked.
I nodded. “But not a gypsy. I’ve asked a few times, but my aunt just falls apart. Losing her sister nearly killed her. But I don’t feel like I know much about him.”
“You were very young. I was, too. I don’t know anything about your father, but I’m sure we could research it. If it will make you feel better. Sometimes digging in the past only causes pain,” he said.
I nodded. “It would upset my aunt. I don’t know. Maybe I’ll feed that hunter a truth potion and see what he really did. I won’t set a dangerous man loose on the world.”
“Smart. If you need help, I’m around.”
“Thanks. And if you need any help with Serena, I’m here. The twins are about the same age, and I’m used to it. I guess I should’ve asked if you have any sisters. I’ve only heard about the one brother,” I said.
“Just the brother. So, girls are a bit different. Serena was spoiled. She’s like Scarlet O’Hara. She’ll get her way or make it her way. Her parents indulged her. She has a couple younger sisters who went with their parents. Serena wanted freedom and thought college would be it. Dorms and parties. Then, they stuck her in my custody. She needs direction and discipline.”
“Wow. That’s a handful. You’ll put her in her place,” I said.
He sipped his wine. “She’s good deep down. She has the right intentions. But she doesn’t always think things through. The consequences are what she needs to think about. Especially since she has magical powers. Her younger sisters aren’t as gifted. Serena has powers and wasn’t fully educated in how to handle them. I might need your help, as well as Esme’s.”
“You’ve got my help, but I’m not much of a teacher. Serena might have more powers than I do.” I shrugged.
He stared at the wine bottle until it hovered over the table. He moved it over my glass and tipped it to refill my wine. I mentally grabbed the bottle and put it right side up and pushed back. I filled his glass then levitated the cork and plugged the wine bottle.
“Showoff,” he said.
The door opened, and I hastily put the wine where it belonged as the waiter brought in our food.
21
I’d gone on some dates in my day, but none of them ended in brewing a potion. But the vampires had texted me that Ryan was trying to escape, again.
“It needs to be strong and last. He’ll fight it,” I said.
Bran tossed in another handful of herbs, and the mix smoked.
I stirred it and poured it into a large glass jar.
“Got it.” I mixed in some iced tea. It was triple the potion I’d given to Esme. This time, I felt no guilt.
“Ready?” he asked.
I nodded. “You carry this. I’ll have my phone recording.”
Bran led the way, and I followed.
“Let me go. It’s over. I heard them talking,” Ryan said.
He paced the cell like a caged wolf.
“One thing first. Drink this,” I said.
“What are you doing? I don’t need a drink. I need to leave.” Ryan pointed at the stairs.
“Who were you trying to call from my bedroom?” I asked.
“Mind your own business,” he shot back.
“That’s enough.” Bran waved his hand and Ryan was pressed back against the wall of the cell. His mouth was awkwardly open.
Bran levitated the jar of tea potion into the cell and poured some down Ryan’s throat.
Ryan coughed and gagged.
“Drink it or we’ll feed you more,” I said.
He garbled a question as more tea was poured. Bran wasn’t choking or waterboarding him. Ryan had chances to breathe.
When half was in, I touched Bran’s shoulder. He pulled the jar back and waited.
“Ryan, how many people did you kill chasing that werewolf into the mall?” I asked.
Ryan shook his head. “Things happen.”
“How many humans were killed? You killed the werewolf, fine. How many humans were dead when it was done?” I asked.
“Four. They got in the way. You can’t leave witnesses. You don’t understand.” Ryan shook.
“You killed four people?” I said.
“No, four people were dead, in addition to the werewolf. I killed two. She killed two. They got in the way.” Ryan glared at me.
“Who is she? Your sister?” I asked.
He shook his head. “She was special. I have to know she’s okay. I can’t find her. I can’t get her on the phone. Her parents probably took her away. They never approved of me.”
“This is new. You had a girlfriend? Was she arrested?” I asked.
He laughed. “No, I’m sure she’s not arrested. She said to come here. Meet her here. But she hasn’t come for me.”
Bran and I exchanged a confused look. “Does she know to get in touch with my uncle?”
“No, she said she could get in, and we’d be gone. She had money saved up. We’d be long gone and far away. But it’s been too long. She’s forgotten about me or her family caught her. Let me out, so I can find her.” He kicked at the air.
“We could hand you over to the police, right now, so you better cooperate,” Bran said.
“Oh, please do. Without her, my life means nothing.” Ryan swatted at the jar.
“Who is this woman? What’s her name?” I demanded.
He pursed his lips and shook his head.
“Tell me her name, and maybe I can help you. Maybe you’ll both go to jail,” I suggested.
“A jail couldn’t hold her. She’d just leave. She’d be here taking me away if she really loved me.” He gritted his teeth together.
“I want a name or you’re not going anywhere,” I said.
“Serena. Serena Murray.” He fell to his knees, his shoulders slumped.
“What?” Bran snapped.
“He came up from the Carolinas,” I said.
“She set this all up.” Bran’s fists clenched.
“Calm down.” I grabbed Bran’s shoulder. “I had no idea.”
“No wonder she was asking about this place. The coven,” he seethed.
“She killed two people. I think that’s a bigger problem.” I stopped recording.
“You know her? Bring her to me, please!” Ryan, now free from Bran’s control, shook the door of the cell.
“Bring her to you? Do you know who he is? She’s his cousin. You’re lucky he hasn’t killed you, yet,” I said to Ryan.
“She loves me. I love her,” Ryan sighed.
“She’s a witch. You’re a human.” Bran shook his head.
“We have to do something. They killed people. Innocent humans,” I said.
Bran ran his hands through is hair. “She’d just escape a human jail with magic. She’ll have to be handled by the witch’s council. But him?”
“We can send him to jail. But if she loves him, she’ll take him out. She was eyeing the door today. With me and Esme here, she’s not the strongest witch. She couldn’t take him from us. But a human jail—she could spring him,” I said.
Bran looked at me intensely. “You didn’t know?”
“Know? No! I had no idea he was connected to her. My uncle brought me a hunter who needed to hide out. It’s happened more than once. They were never dating a witch. Or running from murdering innocent humans. He never said anything except about a sister. I don’t know how to punish a witch or him for this.” I wanted to call Esme.
“You were calling her? Trying to lure her here?” Bran asked Ryan.
Ryan nodded. “I had her cell number. A couple of them. I left her messages, but she never called me back. They wouldn’t give me a phone. Esme took my burner phone
.” Ryan shot me an evil look.
“Because she’s smart. If she’d trusted her instincts, she would’ve turned you over to the police, but we’ll handle this better than humans. You might not think so, but we will make sure you don’t hurt anyone, again.” Bran waved at the cell.
Ryan’s mouth moved, but we heard nothing.
“Nice soundproofing. What do we do with him?” I asked.
“Her first. We need to come up with a plan that’s fair. Punishment. There is a system for this, but her parents would be furious if we turned her over to the witch’s council. We handle it. She’s under twenty-one, so she’s not fully powered or considered an adult by the council. Murder.”
I knew there was a council, but I had no idea their procedure for handing out justice.
“Come on; we need to go get her, now,” Bran said.
“Wait. Just wait.” I took his hand and led him back to the second floor. “She was asking about Mrs. O’Conner. Why would she threaten us? Were there any other threats against witches?” I said.
“She’s protective. She’s studying women’s studies, and the witch trials are a big part of her focus,” he said.
“Right. That might all be true, even though she moved here for him. She pulled all this out of nowhere when her parents were going to be gone…then she could chase down her boyfriend and run wild with him.” I couldn’t believe how clueless some men could be. “Serena seems sweet and clueless, but she might have set up all of this.”
“Her magic needs work,” he said.
“Maybe, but her scheming is top notch. Maybe she wants more advanced lessons?” I asked.
“You think she made the threats against Mrs. O’Conner?” he asked.
“Esme was tutoring Serena. No doubt they got to talking about the incident at the shop. Maybe Serena wanted to impress Esme? Like she was standing up for witches everywhere? A few threats are nothing I’d put past a teen to do as a prank. We need to find out what she actually did. We need to find out any other crimes, to be sure. We might need more truth potion.” I filled up the cauldron.
He nodded. “You’re right. Serena would want to impress you and Esme. The two most powerful witches here are under attack. She’d love to be the one who rescued you. I never thought. She’s too young for that sort of a Bonnie and Clyde romance, as well.”
“Well, we’ll get the truth out of her, and we can sit down with Esme and decide what to do about all of it,” I said.
“No, not tonight. Invite her to a coven meeting tomorrow. Make it look normal. See if someone there threatened the old woman. See if anyone is helping the guy in the basement. Then, I can search her rooms and call her parents. See if they knew about him. See if she confesses to you and Esme.” He shook his head.
“She doesn’t know us that well.” I shrugged.
“Serena has a romantic streak—she might try to play on your emotions. I just want the whole story before we try to settle on a punishment. See if she really loves that hunter jerk.”
“What do we do with him? I’ll give him to the cops, but if she lets him out…” I flopped on a sofa.
“That’s why I don’t want to rush. We need to get all the information.” He sat next to me.
“Do we need to get her parents back here?” I asked.
He shook his head. “She’s an adult as far as the human world is concerned.”
“But we can punish her without her parents’ permission? Or the council's?” I asked.
“The council will approve our punishment or amend it, but it’ll be quieter than if we had a judge come and hear the evidence or we go there. Then, news will spread.”
“Witch gossip?” I teased.
“Exactly. Just what my family doesn’t want. Serena is smart when manipulating her family, but she’s not brilliant with magic. She probably panicked and killed whoever that was at the mall when she meant to freeze them. I just want to make sure that’s all she did.” Bran nodded.
“I think we need some tea or wine. Too bad I don’t have a liquor license here,” I said.
He grabbed my hand and held it tight. “Thank you for your help.”
I looked into his dark and caring eyes. “Thank you for yours. Crazy night.”
“Fate tends to do that to us.” He leaned over and kissed me.
I froze for a second, completely thrown off guard. But he was a good kisser…
22
I called a coven meeting for the next evening. I told Esme to bring Serena, and Bran would make sure she came. The members assembled. It’d been hard not to quiz my cousin and aunt about the secret in my life. That was selfish and crazy. I’d lived this long without details. Right now, I had to make sure two murderers didn’t escape justice.
Bran would slip into the café right when the coven meeting began. If he attended the meeting, Serena would know something was wrong. But if she tried to flee or take Ryan, he’d stop them.
When everyone was there, I stood, and the room got quiet. Serena stood next to Esme with the cousins on her other side. Serena looked around, but mainly, she was looking down her nose at the mix of people.
“I wanted to apologize to you guys. The police confirmed that it was natural causes. I’m not sure if my spell was wrong. The spell said it was unnatural causes, but there might have been other issues we don’t know about. Mr. O’Conner is done with the protesting. The humans have a resolution, and I don’t want to upset anyone by dragging it out to prove anything. But we would still like to find out who threatened Mrs. O’Conner. We don’t want to be attacking humans for their ignorance or fear. The point of the café and this coven is to reach out and have good relations with humans. If anyone knows anything about who made those threats, I want to hear about it now,” I said.
Serena scoffed.
“Excuse me?” I asked.
“Why do you care what humans think? They shouldn’t be threatening what they don’t understand. All their wars are out of ignorance and arrogance,” Serena said.
“That doesn’t mean we threaten them. We must set an example of order,” Esme said.
“What do you even know about this, Serena? You’re new here,” I said.
“Who is she?” Ellen asked.
“Serena Murray. Of the Carolina Murrays.” Serena flipped her hair.
I nearly laughed, but she was a lot more dangerous than she was spoiled. “She’s a cousin of the Killeans, staying with them. Very recently. Have you meddled with anything, Serena?” I asked.
“Meddled? That old lady threatened your café and coven. I heard that through the witch network. What’s wrong with a little warning that karma might get them? She threatened us. I threatened them,” Serena said.
“You what?” Iris asked.
“I made a phone call. I had a friend make one, too, and leave a note. No big deal. The spell was just to bug her.”
“Spell?” Bran asked from the door.
“You’re supposed to wait downstairs,” I said.
“I couldn’t help listening in. What spell?” he demanded.
She jerked her chin. “Doesn’t matter. She died too soon. The spell didn’t work.”
I cleared my throat. “We already know about the mall and the hunter. Tell us what spell you cast on Mrs. O’Conner.”
“It doesn’t matter. It was a joke. The mall was self-defense. A mistake. It went wrong.” She waved it off.
“Repeat the spell,” Bran said.
Serena flinched. “Teach this bitter old woman karma is real. Give her a mega dose of her own medicine so she knows how it feels.”
“Mega dose of her own medicine?” I wanted to curse her out. The girl made a rookie mistake. Spells couldn’t be ambiguous or the worst results always happened.
“What? She was a bitter old grouch. She deserved it. She wished bad things on you guys. She was mean to you, so she deserved people being mean to her for a bit. Karma.” Serena shrugged.
“That woman died of an overdose of insulin.” I pulled up the text on
my phone from Detective Shelley. “They ran a glucose test, and she had no measurable sugar in her body. She took a mega dose of insulin and went to bed. Your spell worked and was taken literally,” I said.
“No. That’s crazy. I didn’t know she was on medicine.” Serena gasped.
“Bind her,” someone called.
Esme waved a hand.
Serena tried to walk away and found herself frozen.
“Let me go. I demand you let me go. It was natural causes. My spell was a flop. I didn’t mean to kill her. I didn’t kill her.” Serena shrieked.
“What about the humans in the mall that you killed to save your hunter boyfriend?” I played the video of Ryan confessing.
She stared at the screen, and her face went red.
“That idiot!” she shouted.
“He was under a powerful truth potion,” Bran said.
“He betrayed me. That bastard!” she screamed. Then, she took a deep breath and seemed to regroup. “It was all self-defense in the mall.”
“You followed him here. You must care about him,” I said.
“He pissed off my dad. Dad threatened him if he didn’t stay away from me. I couldn’t handle being separated from Ryan. Especially when he went on a dangerous hunt. It was late, and he was going to take out the werewolf and be done. I went for backup. We didn’t know there were humans in there doing late inventory. They surprised us. It was an accident.” She bounced.
I laughed. She’d tried to stomp her foot but was frozen from the elbows down.
“Accident or not, you killed two humans that night. He did, as well. You both have to pay. Plus Mrs. O’Conner, goofed spell or not. We can call in a rep from the witch’s council or handle it ourselves,” Esme said.
“She is young,” my aunt added.
“We will handle it and inform the council, but the punishment will be severe. You’re all invited to the Killean mansion tonight at midnight. We will set down punishment at that point. For her and the hunter. She’s my cousin and my responsibility. The hunter came here because Serena knew she could get here and had a place to stay. She thought she could rescue him from hiding. They’re my problem,” Bran said.