A Witch Too Late

by Paula Lester

Cas got a glass of wine and settled into her favorite chair in the living room with a book. She loved reading mysteries. Before all the craziness started, she’d checked out this new one from the library. Maybe reading it would help her get into the right mindset to solve her own mystery.

  No sooner had she cracked the book open than a loud banging made her jump. Someone was pounding on her front door. Cas jumped up and clutched the book to her chest. Echo came racing down the stairs, and they crossed to the door together.

  Mr. Percy stood on her front stoop. He was thin, haggard, and his face had purple bruises all over it. Her neighbor’s left eye was almost swollen shut, and a split lip completed the gruesome picture.

  Cas covered her mouth to keep from yelping. Then she noticed Graham standing behind the beat-up man. He gave Percy a little shove, and Cas moved aside to let them both in.

  She pulled out a kitchen chair for Mr. Percy. “What happened?” Her gaze moved to Graham’s face. “Did you do this?”

  “No, it wasn’t me, but I probably would have if I’d gotten to him first.” Graham’s voice was almost a growl. It sounded as if anger broiled beneath the surface. Percy’s gaze dropped to his folded hands, and he didn’t say anything.

  Cas looked from one man to the other and back again. “I don’t understand. What’s going on?”

  Graham pulled out a chair and sat down behind Mr. Percy. Cas noticed he stayed close enough to grab the smaller man if necessary. “While we were at the ADSB convention,” Graham said, “I ran into a guy I know as a casual acquaintance. He’s a leprechaun who has some superficial dealings in black market magical items. Name’s Seamus Cartwright. I got to talking to him, and it turns out he’d heard about a perpetuity stone showing up on the street and disappearing again. No one he knows actually saw it, but the word among the dealers was that an incubus had it.”

  “Incubus?” Cas’ stomach pitched. Something else supernatural. She’d heard the word before but didn’t know what it meant in the context of her new life. Forty-eight hours ago, witches had seemed like make-believe.

  “A being that feeds off the life force of others. They’ll siphon from humans but prefer magical energy from supernaturals.” Graham sounded disgusted, like the words coming out of his own mouth were dirty. Percy’s head hung a little lower.

  “So, an incubus stole my river stone?”

  “It’s more than a common rock. A perpetuity stone is an artifact that can hold and channel the entirety of a person’s magical power. The stories say that, long ago, witches used them against their enemies. The stones in existence were outlawed and assumed to have been destroyed. And, yes, an incubus stole yours. That incubus.” Graham jerked his thumb toward Mr. Percy.

  Cas’ eyes widened. “He’s an incubus?”

  “Yep. I had a hunch about it when I saw him a few times around the neighborhood. Sometimes he was plump and healthy, like a tick, and other times, skinny and sickly. That’s pretty common with incubi—they look robust after eating and later horrible as it wears off and they get hungry again. When Seamus mentioned an incubus, I thought of Percy as a likely suspect since he lives right next door. When I went to ask him some questions, I could see somebody else got to him first.”

  “I didn’t do anything! What right do you have to detain and question me?”

  “Not much right at all, I guess. I’ll be calling the sheriff to take over soon. But I thought we’d come over here and have a little chat with Cas first, since you’ve been feeding off her for years.”

  Cas dropped her book. Echo dodged in time to avoid it falling smack on top of his head.

  “I didn’t do anything wrong!” Percy shouted and jumped up from his chair. Graham shoved the incubus back down.

  “Well, I didn’t,” he grumbled in a more subdued tone. “I never took more than necessary and only when Cascade was putting off excess. Her energy was never consistent, and when I did feed, it was a tiny amount. I made sure to be careful.”

  A light bulb went on in Cas’ head. This is why Mr. Percy had always found some excuse to touch her; he was taking energy. Feeding on her. Cas’ whole body shivered. She thought of all the times throughout the years he had betrayed her trust.

  Percy must’ve read Cas’ body language because his face crumpled. He studied his hands again. “I’m sorry,” he said. “It’s what I am. I have to eat to live, just like everyone else. I can’t change how I do that.”

  “So what happened the night Cas blossomed?” Graham interjected.

  Still looking down, Percy sighed. He replied in a clear voice, but he sounded miserable. “I felt a surge of power from your house, Cassie. I was drawn to it—it was impossible to stay away. When I got here, you were unconscious. I checked your pulse and it seemed fine. The energy—the power coming off you—was massive. I’d never experienced anything like it before. I couldn’t resist and uh...” He cast a sidelong glance at Graham. “I fed. But just enough to curb my cravings. I would’ve never hurt you. Then I noticed the stone. I could feel something emanating from it, like a residue. So I grabbed it and left. I knew it must be magical, and I figured I could sell it. I’ve been experiencing a lull in freelancing gigs lately.”

  “So you fed from an unconscious woman and stole her property for your own financial gain.” Graham’s voice shook a tiny bit with restrained fury.

  “I didn’t hurt her. I’d never hurt her. And I didn’t gain anything financially because I didn’t sell the stone.”

  Graham’s eyes widened. “What? You still have it?”

  “No. I didn’t sell it because someone stole it from me before I could. They’re the ones who did this.” He pointed at his own busted-up face.

  Graham stood up and moved so he could face Percy. “Someone took the stone from you?”

  “That’s what I said. I tried to say that before you dragged me over here.”

  “Who was it?”

  “I don’t know. They didn’t feel like witches. Their energy, I mean. They could’ve been human far as I could tell. But whoever it was came up on me quick and I didn’t have a chance.” Percy pouted like a child.

  Graham and Cas exchanged glances. Cas wondered if he was thinking the same thing she was: maybe Lavania’s killer was the one who’d beaten up Mr. Percy and stolen the perpetuity stone. But could they have been ordinary humans?

  “I’m calling the sheriff,” Graham said with a final shake of his head. He pulled out a cell phone and moved to the other side of the room, but his eyes never left Mr. Percy. After he talked for a minute, he put his phone away and returned. “Sheriff’s busy, but he’s sending Deputy Chris Wave over.”

  Cas didn’t know what to do with herself while they waited, so she made some tea. She prepared a cup for herself and Graham. Percy sat quiet and forlorn. The idea that he’d been feeding off her made Cas’ skin crawl.

  Despite her misgivings, her instincts made her think Percy was alone in the world. Sort of like Cas herself. She pulled a package of frozen peas out of the freezer and tossed it on the table in front of Percy. He nodded a thanks and slapped it over his eye. She filled a shallow bowl halfway with non-dairy milk and put it on the floor for Echo.

  An awkward silence settled on the room. Cas’ mind raced as she tried to integrate this new information about Mr. Percy into everything else she’d learned in the past couple of days.

  Graham answered the door when the deputy knocked and let the young man in. He was about six feet tall and so thin that Cas thought he’d be invisible if he turned sideways. He had a well-shaped goatee and bicep muscles that threatened to tear his short-sleeve shirt’s arms wide open. The corners of his mouth turned downward, and his eyes narrowed. “Why am I here?” He had a stone-cold voice to match his cold, chiseled features.

  “This incubus stole a magical artifact from Ms. Lorne here. Tried to sell it on the black market. But some Big Bad roughed him up and stole it first.” Graham adjusted his stance so he was squared up with the surly deputy. It reminded Cas of how two male dogs
might posture and size each other up. “The artifact is dangerous, and the council is searching for it. I figured Sheriff Lloyd would want to take him down for questioning.”

  “You thought wrong, Noble,” the younger man growled. “He’s busy with matters that are actually important. Witch business isn’t his priority. You guys need to wait for him to check in on you and the council, not vice versa.”

  The unpleasant man turned his attention to Cas. She straightened her spine and returned his gaze without flinching. Her heart was doing quite a dance, but she refused to be intimidated.

  “What about you, lady? Have you been trying to play amateur sleuth and save your own skin?”

  Cas felt her jaw clench and took a breath before answering. “I didn’t kill Lavania, and your office doesn’t seem too interested in figuring out who did, so I am asking a few questions here and there, yes.”

  Wave took a step toward Cas. It took all her resolve not to move backward. Graham took a discreet step sideways so he stood in front of her. The deputy smiled and revealed sharp, shiny teeth. “Oh, I see,” he said.

  Graham crossed his arms, inclined his head, and said nothing.

  “Well, I’ll tell you this, lady. You’re not a detective, so you shouldn’t be playing one in your spare time. You keep sticking your nose in where it shouldn’t be, and you’re going to be in way more trouble than you already are.” Wave jabbed a finger at her as he snarled the last words.

  “That’s enough, Chris. You don’t have a right to threaten her. She’s cooperating with both the sheriff’s and the council’s investigations. How about you focus on your job, which, right now, is dealing with Mr. Percy here.”

  “More witch problems. Listen, Noble. I know you have some pull with the sheriff. For some reason, he seems to like and respect you. But I’m telling you right now—you’d better watch your step. The rest of us in the department don’t care about your opinion as much, and Lloyd doesn’t want to be yanked into witch business, anyway. That little witch behind you is trouble with a capital T. You’d do best to walk away and find another tail to chase.”

  Cas opened her mouth to protest but before any words came out, Graham growled low in his throat and stepped forward until his chest was only an inch away from Deputy Wave’s. “Listen, son,” he said through clenched teeth. “If you’re not going to do your job and question Percy, I think you’d better be on your way. You’ve about worn out your welcome here, and I don’t want to have to get my clothes dirty putting a pup in his place tonight.” He hesitated and moved a fraction of an inch closer to the younger man. “But I will.”

  Cas drew in a sharp breath. She watched as Wave’s right hand slowly clenched into a fist. His arm drew back a tiny bit but hesitated. The air was thick with the tension of unshed violence. Cas was afraid the deputy would strike but knew it would be silly to get in between the two men.

  Wave took a deep breath, relaxed his hand, and leaned back from Graham. “Hey, you don’t have to take my advice, old man. No skin off my nose. But I don’t have any work to do here. Let the witches deal with the incubus. And when the sheriff’s ready to address your girlfriend’s case, he’ll contact the council. Not the other way around.” He turned and walked out the front door, closing it behind himself. Cas heard his car’s engine fire up and fade away as he backed out of her driveway.

  Graham cracked his neck and turned to Cas. “Are you okay?”

  “Yes. Thank you.”

  “The kid’s got an attitude. Somebody’ll pound it out of him someday.”

  “I’m glad it wasn’t you doing it today in my kitchen.” Cas smiled and Graham laughed. She liked how it sounded joyful and masculine all wrapped up in one. Cas couldn’t help but like how he’d stepped up to her defense. Graham being all assertive was sort of... sexy.

  A flush rose up Cas’ neck and she willed her body to behave itself. She glanced up to see Graham watching. Their eyes met and held for a second too long. Cas broke the stare first and cleared her throat. Graham covered his mouth to suppress a soft cough. They both looked at Mr. Percy.

  “All right, man, I guess you’re released on your own recognizance for now,” Graham said to the forlorn incubus. “We’ll talk to the council about this tomorrow, and I’m sure they’ll send a squad out to ask you some questions.”

  Percy’s shoulders sagged as if they’d been relieved of a great weight. He nodded, stood, handed Cas the package of peas, now only cool, and walked to the front door. Mr. Percy stopped with his hand on the knob and turned back toward Cas. “I’m sorry, you know. It’s not my choice to be like this. I really didn’t ever want to hurt you. I like you and so does Demon.”

  Cas swallowed hard. She felt a little bad for her neighbor, but she was still too creeped out by the whole energy eating thing to really forgive him yet, so she said nothing.

  “Make sure you don’t go anywhere,” Graham reminded him.

  “I don’t have anywhere to go.” Percy let himself out.

  “Well, that was interesting,” Echo said. Sometime during the exchange, the cat had polished off the evening’s refreshment. He bathed the milk off his face and stretched each leg out one by one before heading back toward the stairs. “Another piece of the puzzle solved but more pieces introduced. I’m going to take a long nap and see if that helps any of those pieces snap into place.”

  “That’s a great idea,” Graham said. “I’ll come get you both in the morning, and we’ll let the High Court know about Percy.” He moved to the door and Cas followed him.

  “Thanks again. You and Echo are priceless.”

  “All in a day’s work.” Graham grinned, and his dimple made Cas’ stomach jump a little.

  She closed the door behind her neighbor, locked it, and checked all the other doors in the house before she went up to bed. She had a fitful sleep filled with dreams of a crocodile with Percy’s face trying to eat her. She didn’t fall into a restful, dreamless sleep until close to dawn and slept in until nearly 11:00 the next morning.

  She took a shower, got dressed in jeans and a baby blue cotton knit shirt with short sleeves and a scoop neck, and put on a little make-up. When she arrived downstairs, Echo was already in the kitchen. He sat in a sunny spot with his eyes half closed.

  “Good morning!” Cas said brightly to the cat. “What would you like for breakfast?”

  “Good morning,” he answered with a yawn. “Do you have any sliced turkey breast?”

  Cas opened the refrigerator door and hunted around a little. “I only have low-sodium ham,” she said as she glanced over her shoulder at Echo. “But I could spread some cream cheese on it.”

  “Delightful. Thank you.”

  Cas busied herself with Echo’s food and brewed a fresh pot of coffee. Graham knocked on the door a short while later, and she let him in. He carried a brown paper bag over and set it on the table. “Mornin’,” he said. “I brought bagels. You sure slept in. I’ve been watching for signs of life over here since 9 am.”

  “I know. I had trouble falling asleep. Would you like a cup of coffee?”

  “That sounds great. Black, please.” Graham sat down at the table. A cheerful silence fell over the room as they all enjoyed their late breakfast. As stressful as the past few days had been, Cas realized they’d also been really good. She’d gained two new friends, and that was nothing to sneeze at.

  Once everyone was full and the dishes were in the sink, Echo called a courser and they took it to the Courthouse. Cas noticed there were not as many people milling about in the lobby as usual, and she mentioned it to her companions.

  “Tomorrow’s the big Founder’s Day parade,” Graham explained. “Most people take a couple of days off to prepare. The Court will only see cases it absolutely has to today and tomorrow. The sirens usually spend this time schmoozing with out-of-town witches and such. They might not even be here.”

  When they got up to the council’s reception area, Waverly was there with her purse in hand and was heading for the door. “You
all might as well sleep here for as often as you’ve been around lately,” she said.

  “We have to report a development in Cas’ case to the Court,” Graham told her with a smile that did nothing to move Waverly’s bored features.

  “They’re not here, but Dustin’s around. I guess I can page him for you before I leave.”

  “Thanks, we’d appreciate that.” Cas delivered her brightest smile. It was kind of a fun challenge, trying to get Waverly to show some interest in something.

  The blue-haired receptionist paged Dustin to the lobby and left.

  They waited for at least ten minutes before Dustin entered the room and greeted them with a warm smile. “How can I help you this morning?”

  “We have a lead on the perpetuity stone,” Cas said. “Graham did some digging and found out that one of my neighbors, Mr. Percy, is an incubus who’s been . . .” She stopped for a minute and swallowed hard. She was still having trouble digesting this. “. . . feeding on my energy for a while. He admitted to coming into my house when I was unconscious after the river stone arrived. He took it and tried to sell it on the magical black market, but someone caught up to him first, beat him up, and took the stone.”

  Dustin’s eyes widened. “Wow, that’s a big lead! The sirens are all out right now, but I’ll send a peacekeeper squad to talk to this Percy character.”

  Denzel floated through the wall and handed a piece of paper to Dustin. He reminded Cas of the ghost woman who’d been following her. “Dustin, did you know my mom?” she asked suddenly.

  “Oceane?” Dustin studied the paper in his hand. “I was only a teenager, but I knew of her. She had a penchant for getting into trouble sometimes. Dabbling in magic best left alone.” He seemed to realize he shouldn’t speak ill of Cas’ deceased mom and looked up from his paper. “She was beautiful, Ms. Lorne, and always extraordinarily kind to me whenever our paths did cross. My dad had dealings with her from time to time, of course, and even though she was troublesome for him, he liked her too.”

  “Your dad?”

  Dustin’s jaw muscles clenched a fraction. “Yes. He was a shifter in the sheriff’s department. Died a while back.”