The Witching Hour: 11 Enchanting Novels Featuring Witches, Wizards, Vampires, Shifters, Ghosts, Fae, and More!, page 44
I blinked at the Irish accent. For some reason, given her dress, I had expected to hear an inflection straight out of the Hawaiian islands. But nope, everything in the house except for Auntie Tautau’s dress said, “Irish.” Including the picture that hung on the hallway wall of a leprechaun dancing beside a rainbow. It was a photograph—not a painting. Leprechauns were rare, but it was possible to hunt one down if you tried. Something told me that Auntie Tautau wouldn’t have any problem scaring one up.
She scooted us into a living room that was jammed with curios, yet felt neat as a pin. “Sit down. I’ll call for the cocoa and you can ask your questions.”
“You knew we were coming?”
“Linda said you would be here. So yes, I anticipated your visit. Now, sit and I’ll strengthen the fire. The chill outside is a nasty one, cuts to the bone. You don’t want to catch your death. Or anybody else’s death, either.” With that curious statement, she waggled her fingers toward the fireplace and the sputtering flames roared to life, the heat emanating off them to fill the room.
“So Linda was here?” I asked, feeling rather sad. I looked around, realizing we had missed her.
“Yes, indeed. She was. She’s gone now, you know. I sent her off to reunite with her daughter. Sad bit of business, that is. But there’s nothing for you to do now. She won’t be back. I vested her and her young one with a safe passage ticket to a private place. But there’s no coming back from the WPP.”
Delia cleared her throat. “You’re part of the WPP?”
Auntie Tautau nodded. “I am indeed.”
“What’s the WPP?” Aegis asked.
“The Witches’ Protection Program,” Sandy said. “We—that is, witches like Auntie Tautau—can make people disappear safely who have a bounty on their head, or who are in trouble like Linda.”
“It’s not invoked very often, because it requires tremendous power and a complete reconstruction of their life web,” Auntie Tautau said. “And there must be extenuating circumstances. The Aunties are very clear about this. None of you know the good Linda has done in her past. She helped thousands of people over the centuries, and has gone uncredited. But the Society Magicka keeps an eye out for those on a slippery slope. Her name was bandied around more than most.”
I pressed my lips together, trying to sort out my feelings. She had compromised the island, but still the Society Magicka had seen fit to overlook that. Yet, I couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief that Linda and her daughter were safely out of the way.
“That leaves the matter of Essie and the island, though. We have a very delicate situation on our hands and somebody better take the reins of power now because if Essie’s going to make a move, you can bet she’ll do so soon. With Linda gone, it’s the ideal time for her and her crew to swoop in.” Sandy turned to Delia. “Can you take over as interim mayor until a new election can be held?” She paled. “I just had a horrible thought. What’s to prevent Essie from running for the position and scaring her way into the vote?”
“Yes, I can, and vampires can’t hold public office. She can’t run for mayor because that would be breaking the rules governing public servants.” Delia chewed on her lip. “I suppose I can call an emergency meeting of the town council for tomorrow morning. We’ll need a representative from Moonrise Coven. Usually, that would be Linda. Who’s second in command in your coven?”
I shook my head. “It will have to be a member of the Inner Court. So Sandy, Terrance, Angus, or me.”
Sandy pulled out her phone. “I’m calling Angus and Terrance right now.”
While she was setting up the conference call, I turned back to Auntie Tautau. “Are you sure Linda and her daughter are safe?”
She smiled softly, pushed a stray wisp of gray hair behind her ear. “Child, they are safer than anybody in this room. Don’t fret. I sent them to a happy space where they can be together. A mother should not be parted from her daughter. Linda will miss her life here for a while, but she’ll blossom into the new one I’ve provided.”
As Auntie Tautau spoke, her voice took on the tone of absolute certainty. My doubt faded and I thought back to Bubba. Somehow, he had helped make this happen, and Auntie Tautau had done the rest.
“So, you confirm Linda’s safely out of Bedlam, with her daughter?” Delia opened her notebook to make a note, then stopped. “Why is my pen not working? It was a few seconds ago.”
“Because anything you write about someone in the WPP won’t translate to the page. We’re that good. And yes, Linda and her daughter are safe. Auntie Sagewind down in Georgia contacted me.”
The room was silent for a moment as we digested the information.
Aegis cleared his throat. “Can you do anything about Essie?”
Auntie Tautau shook her head. “No, I cannot. I can’t directly intervene with regards to the troublemakers. The Aunties protect and guard. We aren’t like the Society Magicka. They have no control over us, although we sometimes work together. But we are only here to help and not harm.” She pressed mugs of hot cocoa in our hands, along with shortbread.
I didn’t have the heart to tell her I wasn’t hungry, so I nibbled on my cookie. The Witches’ Protection Program had been born out of the mists. I wasn’t sure where it started, but they moved when they would—not at anybody else’s bidding. During my time on the run from the witch hunters, I had prayed they would take me in, but they never had and I knew better than to complain. I wouldn’t have known who to petition, anyway.
“I’ve got Angus and Terrance on the line.” Sandy returned, setting her phone down and putting it on speaker so we could all hear them. “I’ve explained to them that Linda’s gone, though I didn’t tell them why, but they know she’s not coming back.”
“Can someone confirm that?” Angus’s voice echoed out from the phone.
With a frown, Auntie Tautau leaned forward, glaring at the cell phone. “Bah. Technology. I don’t like it, for the most part. You listen to me, young witch. I am Auntie Tautau. Cassandra speaks the truth. Don’t question the will of the gods.”
There was a brief pause.
“Right.” Angus cleared his throat. “So we need to pick a leader for the coven?”
“Right. We have to call an emergency town council meeting and I need a representative from the coven there. This is vital, Angus. Lives may depend on it. So you four better get in gear and decide who’s taking Linda’s place as High Priestess right now.” Delia leaned back, closing her eyes. She looked tired.
“That’s easy.” Terrance laughed. “Maddy, don’t you think?”
I jerked, my shoulders stiffening. “What? You want me to take over being the High Priestess? Are you kidding? I haven’t lived here long—”
Sandy laughed. “Too late. I just briefed them on the basics. All three of us agree that you’re the one for the job. You don’t have a choice, Maddy. You’re the new High Priestess.”
I stared at her. “You’re in on this?”
“You’re the best choice. I’m too busy and I don’t have the reputation you do. Terrance and Angus are men, so they can’t assume the title. Ergo—you.” She shrugged, then leaned in toward the phone. “You guys good on that?”
“We are,” Terrance said.
“Aye. Maddy’s for the job,” Angus said. They both hung up before I could say another word.
“That’s settled then,” Delia said. “The meeting will be at nine tomorrow morning. Meanwhile, we better make certain Ralph’s safe. I’ve set a watch on him, but when he came out of the thrall state, he was in a bad way. He doesn’t have many memories of what happened, but when he found out that he’s been under control of a vampire, it set him off good. He’s been howling up a storm, threatening to stake any vamp that gets in his way. He also feels horrible about what he did to you, Maddy. And he’s terrified that he might have actually killed Rose.”
“Let’s go. You do realize that once you assume the title of mayor, Essie’s going to make you a target.”
Delia shrugged. “We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. Auntie Tautau, thank you. You’ve been more helpful than you know.”
And with that, we headed for the squad car. Auntie Tautau waved from her porch. I started to warn her to be careful but then the realization hit that she probably had more power in her little finger than I had in my whole body, and I dropped the thought.
As we headed toward city hall, it occurred to me that Bedlam was proving to be a lot more complicated than I had expected it to be. Quiet little town, my ass.
14
The city hall was dark and silent when we arrived. A couple of deputies were headed toward their squad car as we jogged up the steps to the main plaza, and they waved at Delia.
“Sheriff, we’ve got a five-two down at the Starhopper’s Mini-Mall.”
“Be careful. You never know what else might be waiting.” She waved them on. “Damn kids. There’s been a rash of break-ins at some of the smaller stores. You’d think around here they’d realize that magical alarms are cheap to come by. But there’s always some idiot kid who thinks they can beat the system and break in.”
We hurried through the silent hallway, passing the city hall and the courthouse. As we swept through the doors to the sheriff’s office, the flurry of busyness startled me. At times I forgot that some careers never had a lull.
“Ralph’s in one of the main holding cells.” Delia wove us through the cluster of desks till we came to a door on the other side of the room. There, she brushed a keycard against the scanner on the wall and an audible click sounded as the door opened.
Once through that door, the hall was concrete, and I could sense a thick muffling wave that made my magic settle into a slow pulse. A magical reduction ward, I guessed. They’d have to have that, as well as other safeguards, in place, given the nature of Bedlam’s inhabitants.
The hall stretched on for a ways, several doors along each side. It ended in a T-junction. We followed Delia to the end of the hall, turning left behind her. About fifteen feet later we came to a large gate that barred the path with a door in the center. Ten feet beyond the door was another iron gateway stretching across the hall. Beyond that, I could make out a row of cells.
The officer inside scanned Delia’s keycard and then looked at us. “Any weapons to declare?”
Sandy handed him her bag. “You might as well keep that till I come back. Gun, brass knuckles, pepper spray, switchblade…a few other things.”
The guard suppressed a smirk as he locked it away in a cabinet, then proceeded to run a scanner over the three of us. I wasn’t sure what he was scanning for, but apparently none of us had any hidden contraband that showed up, so he locked the door through which we had just entered, then opened the one leading into the cell block.
Delia led us down the hall. We passed a couple large, barred windows that let in the light from the storm outside. Huge floodlights illuminated the grounds outside, and in their light we could see that the snow had picked up again. The Winter Fae must be partying hard, I thought.
The walls were taupe. The color was bland, draining the brightness out of everything. The hall also felt like it muffled energy, as well. Nothing to trigger tempers or sadness. Just a soft smoosh of bland, bland, bland.
We came to the end of the hall, and the cell block ran to the left and right of the archway. The cell in front of us was empty, but to the left sat Ralph Greyhoof, staring quietly at the television that was playing a football game. Ralph was a Seahawks fan, and he often threw huge football and tailgate parties.
The cells to either side of his were empty as well, and I could see cameras aimed on him from all directions. He really was under surveillance.
The moment he saw us, he turned off the television, slowly standing. “Sheriff, what’s going on?” He did a double take when he saw me. “Maddy…” Flustered, he stopped and lowered his head, staring at his hooves. “I don’t know what to say.”
“I know you were in thrall, Ralph. We may have a healthy competition between us, but I know you wouldn’t deliberately try to kill me. Or anybody else.” I tried to keep from wrinkling my nose as the scent of his discomfort hit me square in the face. One thing about satyrs: they couldn’t keep their moods hidden. Their scents gave them away every time, which was why so many of their first dates went bad. When you can smell a guy’s erection, it tends to put you off your dinner.
“Yeah, but we don’t actually know that I didn’t hurt that girl.” His voice was raw and he looked up, his gaze locking with mine. In his eyes I could see the whirl of guilt and fear and concern roiling up one hell of a storm.
“We’re going to try to find out for sure. If you didn’t, then you deserve to be free. If you did…”
“Then it’s better all the way around for everybody to know.”
“Ralph, we’re worried that you might be in danger. Don’t ask me why or who, but I’m going to move you to premises that are more secure.” Delia pulled out a large hoop filled with keys. She glanced through, finding the right key. “Stand back from the door, please.”
Ralph obliged, moving to the back of the cell. As I watched him, I knew I had been right. Ralph was no killer. This wasn’t someone who could easily cast aside someone’s life. He might be lascivious, but he wasn’t vicious.
Delia opened the cell and motioned for him to move forward. He held his hands behind his back, turning around so she could cuff him. Wincing at the iron in the cuffs—satyrs could handle silver, but iron roughed them up—he followed her as she led him out of the cell.
We quickly walked the other way, to the opposite side of the juncture. There, we came to a heavy steel door painted red. Delia glanced back at us. “This is a safer area.”
“What’s going on?” Ralph asked.
“We’re just trying to protect you in case the vampire who enthralled you comes back to—” Delia paused, glancing up at the satyr, who stood head and shoulders above her.
“To kill me?” Beads of sweat broke out on his forehead and he began to fidget. “You really think I’m in danger?”
“We aren’t certain, but we’d rather be safe than sorry,” Sandy broke in.
“Sandy’s right. And behind this door, you’ll be in a vampire-free zone. They can’t get beyond the magical wards we have set up. And neither can anybody else.” Delia wasn’t quite being truthful. I could sense a discrepancy, but Ralph couldn’t.
He calmed down as she opened the door and led him through, motioning for us to wait. A moment later she returned and once again locked the heavy door. “He’ll be okay for now. Truth is one of the Aunties could get through, or someone like them. But I doubt that’s going to happen. Come on, let’s go talk to forensics and see what they’ve found.”
We returned to the main office, where she led us through another door. We stopped at a small cubicle toward the back of a narrow hall. With a quick knock, she opened the door.
We followed her through into a room that was larger than I had expected. On one side of a room was a row of lockers labeled “Evidence.” To the left were long workbenches, with magnifying glasses, microscopes, and all sorts of equipment. Straight ahead was some sort of a testing ring, where large white boards were covered with splatters mimicking blood. Several mannequins had taken a bad turn and were lying on the floor, ragged blood bags strapped to their chests and backs. We followed Delia over to one of the desks, where an officer was poring through a sheath of papers.
“Darren? What have you got for me on the Rose Williams case? Anything?” Delia leaned over his desk.
Darren—who I could tell at first glance was a werewolf, he had that lupine look to his eyes—glanced up at her. “I think we do, actually. We tried out several scenarios as to how she was stabbed. Sheriff, the person who killed—” He paused, glancing behind her as we all crowded around.
“Go ahead. They’re all right.”
“Okay, then. Williams was killed by somebody who had to be under five-eight. The angles of the wound are all wrong for anybody taller than that. I’d actually place the assailant at between five-five to five-eight. So that’s a fairly narrow range.”
Delia glanced at me. “Ralph’s six-three.”
“That occurred to me,” I said.
Darren held up another paper. “However, the killer was incredibly strong. The coroner just sent his report over and the wound to her stomach was so forceful that it chipped her spine. So the knife had to be strong and the assailant had to possess a massive amount of strength. Given there’s only one stab wound and no signs of struggle, I would say that she either knew the killer, or was taken by surprise.”
“Anything else?” Delia asked, glancing over the forms he handed her.
“Yes, actually. We found two partial prints on the panpipes. The pipes were wiped clean, otherwise. Neither print matches the satyr’s. Even though he verified they belong to him it looks like they were planted at the scene. Whoever left them there wiped them clean, but wasn’t quite thorough enough.”
“This is all good news for Ralph. Anything else that we can use to exonerate him?” Delia blew a thin stream of breath through her teeth.
“Actually, yes. Greyhoof is left handed. If you look at this picture, you’ll notice the angle of the injury. When we recreated it, the killing blow came in on a right-handed angle. Also, and perhaps most important, when satyrs are highly excited—be it arousal or adrenaline—they give off a strong odor.”
“We knew that already.”
“Perhaps what you didn’t know is that their scent markers contain particles that cling to anybody near them. We can test to see if someone’s been within arm’s reach of a satyr within the past few hours and be reasonably sure of our answer.”
This was news to me and it made me wonder what any number of suspicious husbands—and a few wives—would do if a home satyr-scent test was invented.
Aegis spoke up. “You mean, because we were close to Ralph just a few minutes ago, we’d show positive for satyr dust?”
