Thea stilled, feeling the sincerity behind Ada’s words. “I’m so sorry–”
Without warning, Ada spit on the ground. Pippa and Thea jumped, taken aback by her actions. Out of caution, the two of them subtly maneuvered themselves closer to the front door.
“You have a lot of nerve coming into my house and expecting me to care about what happened to a wolf shifter,” Ada said, turning to look at the two of them. Her eyes were void from emotion. “I want nothing to do with them and neither do any of the fox shifters. What happens to them is none of our concern.”
“I understand,” Thea responded. “We just wanted to talk to the elders of both sides to get insight on the situation. Do you know where we can find the wolf elder?”
Ada scoffed. “Gregory Powell? You can probably find him wasting his time out in the woods by himself. He’s no better than the rest of them. It won’t be long until those wolves end up destroying themselves from the inside out.”
Without a word, Pippa and Thea exchanged worried looks. By mentioning the wolf shifters, they certainly touched a nerve with Ada. They decided against pursuing things further. The woman was agitated enough.
“Thank you for your help, Ada,” Pippa called out to her as they opened the front door to head out. “We appreciate it.”
Ada didn’t reply. She stared out her window, leaning against her cane. Pippa pressed her lips into a thin line, following Thea out the door. The two of them finally decided to speak once there was enough distance between themselves and the house.
“That was...” Thea began, as she gradually made her way back to the car.
Pippa nodded. “Yeah. I didn’t expect that sort of reaction from her, either.”
“She really hates the wolf shifters,” Thea remarked. She took a brief glance over her shoulder towards Ada’s house. “I mean, I don’t blame her. But wow.”
“Are you going to talk to that man she mentioned?” Pippa asked. “Gregory Powell?”
“Of course. I have to. It’s the only way we’re going to get closer towards finding the truth of what happened to Tony that night.”
Chapter 10
Thea was wiping away the dry paint from her hands with an old rag when her phone began to ring. Reaching over, she let out a small gasp when she saw Blaine’s name flash up on the screen. She accepted the call and placed the phone between her ear and shoulder as she continued to clean up behind the counter.
“Hi Blaine, what’s up?”
“Some big news about the case. We think we’ve made some sort of breakthrough on how Tony died.”
Thea let out an astonished breath. “Did you find any clues? Are you close to finding out who killed him?”
“We did find more clues, but we’re starting to believe that no one was involved with his death. They’ve been talking about ruling it as an accident instead of a homicide.”
“An accident?” Thea repeated, pausing her movements. “What did they find?”
“Some police officers managed to find tracks and scuffed markings around the area where Tony’s body was found. We’re starting to think a wild animal cornered him and made him fall into the ravine. If that was the case, Tony would have died of a concussion on impact.”
Even though she was somewhat relieved at the idea that a wild animal was responsible for his death, it still didn’t sit right with her that a young man’s life was tragically cut short.
Thea glanced around her shop and found Jesse near the back, restocking some paint brushes and cleaning up the area. She was then struck with an idea.
“Blaine, do you think Jesse and I can come by to the crime scene? I’m assuming the police officers have finished investigating the area, right?” Thea asked, leaning on the counter. “I think we’d be able to help.”
“I guess so,” Blaine replied quietly. “Let me know when you guys arrive.”
ONCE THEA AND JESSE closed up A Stitch in Time for the day, they headed off to the outskirts of Ardensville where Tony’s body was found in the ravine. The police tape was removed, allowing civilians back into the area. However, most people did not wander off into those woods voluntarily.
Of course, Thea and Jesse were the exceptions.
Eventually, they found Blaine waiting for their arrival. He was leaning on the front of his car with his arms crossed, occasionally glancing at his wristwatch. When he caught sight of the two of them, he made his way over.
“I didn’t think you’d stick around for us,” Thea said once he approached. “You really didn’t have to stay behind, Blaine. I’m sure you’re tired because of all of your work.”
Blaine shrugged. “I don’t mind. I wanted to come along.”
“We could have handled it ourselves.” Thea glanced at Jesse, who had stayed silent throughout their conversation. Based on the look on his face, he obviously didn’t want to interject.
“I’m going anyway,” Blaine replied brusquely, leading the way. “You guys can run into danger, and then what? It would be a disaster to have two accidents happen in the same location in such a short span of time.”
Thea pressed her lips into a thin line and decided to stop responding. She didn’t know why, but Blaine’s behavior rubbed her the wrong way. She was getting the sense that he didn’t trust her abilities. She hoped she was wrong, however.
Nevertheless, Blaine walked them through the woods until they reached their point of interest. They stood encapsulated by large trees, mossy rocks, and jagged stones. Thea was careful not to get her shoes wet by the passing stream as they maneuvered their way through.
“This is where he was found,” Blaine said, pointing at the space before them. “The police already combed the area for the clues. They found animal tracks nearby.”
Thea and Jesse continued to trail after him as he brought them closer. Just as Blaine was about to brush past some bushes, Jesse called out a warning.
“Blaine, watch out!” he yelled, causing Blaine to still in his tracks. He turned around with a confused expression on his face. Jesse pointed at the bushes that he stood only a few inches away from. “You were about to walk into some poison ivy.”
“Wow, Jesse,” Thea mumbled, giving her friend an impressed glance. “Nice catch.”
The tip of Blaine’s ears burned as he rubbed his forearm, staring at the poison ivy he almost touched. He clenched his jaw, sending Jesse an appreciative nod.
“Thanks, man. I owe you one,” he said, to which Jesse smiled. Blaine brushed off his embarrassment and pointed towards some broken branches. He seemed eager to forget about his slip-up. “Here. Let’s keep moving.”
Cautiously passing by the poison ivy bush, the three of them made their way closer to the bottom of the ravine. Thea winced, realizing the fall Tony endured before he hit the bottom. It sent a shiver down the course of her spine. The fact that they were standing in the same place where he took his last breath made her feel somewhat uneasy.
“Jesse,” Thea said suddenly, turning around to face him. “Where do the wolf shifters live? Are they close by?”
He took a brief glance at their surroundings before pointing forwards. They were already heading in that same general direction.
“They don’t live very far from here, actually,” Jesse replied. “If we keep moving forward, we should be able to find their campers in a few minutes.”
“Good. I’m glad that I know where to go for next time when I come talk to them,” Thea commented, thinking that only Jesse was hearing her.
In reality, Blaine also overheard that small detail. Immediately, his face turned to stone at her words.
Thea noticed the odd look on his face when she gazed at him, but he turned away without saying anything. She frowned, thinking that his behavior was strange. Regardless of that, she turned her focus onto the nearby wolf commune.
Thea was already trying to figure out a way to approach them, hoping that they wouldn’t see her as some sort of threat in the process. Her recent visit with Ada was still fresh on her mind.
<
br /> Would the wolves be just as dangerous as the fox elder had been?
And if they were really capable of the kind of violence Ada blamed them for, how would Thea make sure she could get out safely?
Chapter 11
As the evening came, Thea decided to spend the rest of her day practicing magic with Sybil. She’d promised Aunt Tiegen that she would, acknowledging that she had some work to do in order to get these spells right.
The first time around was never perfect, she knew that. However, she was somewhat embarrassed by the way she could barely get through some steps before needing Aunt Tiegen to walk her through them. Thea was dissatisfied and wanted to show her aunt that she was indeed capable of learning and refining her magical skills.
Sybil was more than happy to help her out as they practiced glyphs and shielding together. After Granny overheard what the two of them were up to, she also made an appearance and gave Thea pointers along the way to help with her learning.
“Am I doing it right?” Thea asked breathlessly, taking a quick break from practicing.
Granny smiled, petting Sybil’s head as the kitten hopped onto the table and brushed her head along her arm. “You’re making great progress. Keep it up, Thea. You’ll be able to master these spells by yourself in no time.”
“I hope so,” Thea replied, feeling rejuvenated by Granny’s words of encouragement. It was nice knowing that she was taking steps in the right direction. “And Granny? Can I ask you something?”
“Ask me anything.”
“Well... it’s about Blaine,” Thea explained sheepishly. Granny sat up straighter. “When Jesse and I went out to the woods to observe the crime scene, he was acting... well... strange. I don’t know how else to describe it.”
“Strange in what way?” Granny asked.
“It seemed like he didn’t want me doing things by myself, you know? It was kind of weird. When I mentioned to Jesse that I wanted to go talk to the wolf shifters soon, Blaine made a face but he didn’t say anything to me about it. After that, he was pretty silent the entire trip. I’m just wondering if I did something wrong, that’s all.”
Her explanation evoked a soft laugh out of Granny. She shook her head in amusement.
“Oh, Thea. The boy is just being protective over you, that’s all,” Granny said. “It shouldn’t come as a surprise, either. Most shifters are defensive over the people closest to them. Now that you and Blaine have developed a romantic relationship, this reaction from him seems natural.”
“But what if I don’t like it when he acts like that?” Thea questioned. “Sometimes, it feels too overbearing. I get the sense that he doesn’t even trust me to do things by myself.”
Granny sighed. “It’s more of an instinctual thing. If it bothers you that much, then it’s something you need to talk to him about.”
The thought of discussing this sort of thing with Blaine scared her. She didn’t know what was going on with her. Before they were serious about their relationship, she could talk to him about anything and everything without worrying. Now, she didn’t know how to act around him. What was going on?
“But I recommend leaving your romantic issues for a later time, don’t you think?” Granny said, rising from her seat. Sybil straightened herself out and hopped down from the table. “Besides, I want to show you something useful. Have you heard of remote viewing?”
Thea knitted her eyebrows together. “What’s that?”
“It’s when you’re able to see the world, but through another being’s perspective,” Granny explained vaguely, and when Thea’s eyes widened, she continued. “Let me show you. Stand over there. Sybil, you go over there.”
Thea and Sybil followed her instructions as she set up two circles for them to stand in. Afterwards, Granny showed her the glyphs necessary to make the spell work. Thea took a few moments to internalize Granny’s instructions, but once she was ready, she managed to connect the circles and focus.
Within a few moments, and with a lot of help from Granny, something clicked within Thea as she closed her eyes. When she opened them again, she realized that she was staring back at her own body. And she was smaller. A lot smaller.
I’m... I’m seeing things through Sybil! The realization hit her like a ton of bricks.
Granny then instructed Sybil to move around the house, which she did. Thea was able to see everything from her perspective. The kitten hopped onto tables, passed through small crevices, and scurried down the staircase. As she did so, Thea was able to see everything through her eyes.
Eventually, when Sybil returned back to the circle, Granny explained how to break out of the spell. When Thea did so, she felt dizzy returning to her own body. A small bout of vertigo hit her, but Granny laughed it off and explained that it was normal, especially for those new to the spell.
“That was... amazing,” Thea breathed out, stumbling to take a seat. She needed to take a moment to recompose herself after that. “Why is it so easy to practice magic with you instead of Aunt Tiegen?”
Granny took a lot of pride in that statement. “Your aunt and I have very different perspectives when it comes to learning magic. You seem to work better with my methods than Tiegen’s.”
“I wish I could just practice with you all the time,” Thea mumbled out.
“You shouldn’t completely disregard your aunt’s methods. There is a lot of merit to learning her ways, as well. She’s powerful. The difference is that Tiegen focuses a lot on memorization and practice. She’s all about perfection,” Granny explained. She raised up a finger. “However, I like to think of magic as something that comes naturally to its user. It should be innate. You should be able to feel it in here.”
Granny pointed towards her chest. At that, Thea agreed wholeheartedly. She felt her most powerful when she didn’t force it. Sometimes, practicing was difficult for her for that very reason. When she felt as if she had something to prove, her magic was sloppy and all over the place. In those moments, she felt like she was a pretender. As if these abilities did not belong to her.
With a differing perspective, Thea felt her understanding of magic widen substantially.
“So it should be instinctual,” she concluded.
Granny nodded. “Exactly.”
Thea was filled with an elated sensation of accomplishment. The more she studied magic, the more she felt it might be possible to tackle the wall of mysteries that had been built up around her.
Her training with Sybil and Granny only left her feeling more determined than ever to get to the heart of the case.
Chapter 12
After learning how to use remote viewing successfully, Thea wanted to practice it whenever she could. Not only did it bring her a sense of satisfaction, but she also found the entire process fun. Seeing the world through Sybil’s eyes was fascinating.
As she finished up her tasks in A Stitch in Time, she realized that she was going to have a lot of free time. Not to mention, the shop was pretty empty. If anyone were to enter, Jesse would be there to help them.
For that reason, Thea beckoned Sybil over into the back room so that they could practice together again. She was lucky to have a familiar that was just as eager to do all of this as she was.
“Where do you want me to head off to?” Sybil asked as Thea prepared to complete the spell. “Anywhere in particular?”
Thea stopped, thinking about that for a moment. “How about you head off to the Paulsons’ house? We can check and see what Mira has been up to.”
“Sounds devious. I like it,” Sybil replied, her whiskers twitching in excitement.
Thea was able to successfully complete the remote viewing spell, as expected of her at this point. She found that it was getting easier with more practice. Already sensing that this was becoming her favorite spell, she figured that it wouldn’t be long until she and Sybil mastered this process together.
Once she was seeing things through Sybil’s eyes, the familiar hurried her way towards the Paulsons’ house. Luckily enoug
h for them, Sybil was able to find a window that was somewhat cracked open. Due to her small size, she was able to leap through without much issue.
Gradually making her way through the house, Sybil guessed for the briefest moment that there was no one around. She wasn’t seeing anyone and she wasn’t hearing anyone. Nevertheless, she decided to wander from room to room in an attempt to find anything interesting.
Before she knew it, the familiar froze in her tracks as she entered the living room. As it turned out, there was someone in the residence. Two people, actually. Mira and Max, cuddling together on the couch while they watched a movie together.
On instinct, the kitten unsheathed her claws. She did it every time she felt somewhat threatened, but the noise made whenever her claws hit the flooring was loud enough to be noticeable. When she scampered away from the scene, Mira whipped around and tried to find the source of that sound.
“Did you hear that?” she asked Max.
“It was nothing, don’t worry about it.”
Sybil heard their voices fade as she hurried away. When she eventually returned to A Stitch in Time, Thea and Sybil were both perplexed by the sight they witnessed. All this time, they were under the impression that Mira and Tony were the ones who were secretly dating.
Based on what they saw, that wasn’t the case at all. Instead, it was Mira and Max.
Already, she knew that this situation was getting even more complicated for Pippa’s little sister. For one, the wolves still believed that she was implicated in Tony’s death somehow. To find out that she was also in a relationship with one of their own? Mira was going to be in a world of trouble if the wrong people found out about that information.
Sybil and Thea discussed quietly amongst themselves and did so until Blaine arrived for lunch. Although he came in with a pleasant mood, it was soon ruined by Thea’s suggestion on what her next move should be.
Adventure Magic (Tabby Kitten Mystery Book 3) Page 4