Witch out of Luck

by Elle Adams

  “Saw what?”

  Annabel sniffed. “I saw… I saw my parents die. They were killed in an accident when I was a kid. That’s why my grandmother raised me, but I didn’t tell her. I couldn’t. Because I saw it and I didn’t stop it.”

  “So you did have the gift?” No wonder she’d been so quick to believe the elves’ trick. They couldn’t possibly have known that, though.

  “I don’t want the gift. I never did.” Her voice broke. “When I saw us breaking up, I was scared he’d die, too.”

  “He’s fine,” I said. “Well, he’s going to have an awful hangover for about a week, but he’ll live, and he wants to stay with you. Just keep the faith.”

  One of us had to.

  “Yeah.” She sniffed again. “I believe you. Why do I believe you? You’re the one who can sense lies, not me.”

  I pulled the shard of glass from my pocket. “Did you throw this in the lake? I found it in pieces.”

  “I threw the crystal ball,” she said. “It wasn’t broken.”

  “The elves threw it in the lake,” I said. “Burying the evidence.” In more than one way. I was tempted to report them to the elf king at the very least, but first I had to find a murderer. “And Bracken is on his way here right now.”

  Her face lit up with hope. Seeing her happiness only drove the shard deeper into my own heart. I gave her a watery smile and turned away. It was time to find out what had really happened that day at the lake.

  15

  I left Annabel’s cottage behind. With any luck, the elves would be on their way with Bracken at their side. Under normal circumstances, I’d stick around to make sure the other two kept their word, but I had a murderer to find. When you took the elves out of the equation, that left the academy students and the sirens. Maybe the High Flier had died by accident or had witnessed the first death, I didn’t know, but Terrence’s death had started this. Once I found out who killed him, the rest of the details would fall into place.

  On my way back to the lake, I gave Helen a call.

  “Hey,” I said, when she picked up. “I need to talk to the pupils again, is that okay? All the other suspects have been eliminated.”

  Her breath caught. “All of them? Even the sirens?”

  “Well, no, but… they don’t have a motive.” Though they did know the lake, and surely at least one of them would have seen the shattered crystal ball. “But it’s not the elves. And I think—”

  Helen’s voice buzzed to static as a feeling of foreboding swamped me. I twisted around, gripping my phone with my hand. “Who’s there?”

  Silence answered. The trees remained quiet and still. Nervous prickles ran up my spine.

  “Sky?” I called. I’d sent him to follow Nathan’s father. If he planned anything, my cat would stop him. But I didn’t think it was Mr Harker who was lurking close by. I’d only felt such a weird smothering sensation once before… when I’d looked into the depths of the crystal ball.

  I lowered my phone and went for my wand, but sparks flashed behind my head, and the world turned to blackness.

  I came to when a surge of water crashed over my head. Gasping and spluttering, I fought for breath, as the world reoriented itself. A grassy ledge lay above my head. Someone had magicked me unconscious and pushed me into the water.

  “That’s not cool,” I said.

  A pair of wet hands grabbed me from behind, yanking me into the depths of the lake.

  I kicked out, fighting against the strong grip, but water closed over me, filling my mouth. Gasping, my head broke the surface once again, and I twisted around to look at my attacker.

  “You?” I said to the siren. “It was you all along?”

  “Sorry,” she said. “It’s nothing personal, Blair.”

  Her hands gripped my arms and pulled me under once again. Her grip was like iron, and the air squeezed from my lungs as I fought for breath. She didn’t even need to be able to sing to drown me. I kicked out, fighting to keep my head above the surface of the water. She held my arms too tightly for me to grab my wand, but I flailed, my right hand breaking the surface.

  I snapped my fingers, turning into fairy mode. My wings beat, breaking her grip, but I couldn’t fly underneath the water. I kicked out again—and my wings vanished.

  “What the…?”

  A glint caught my eye. A piece of crystal, floating in the water. It must have fallen from my pocket. Was it messing with my glamour?

  I swam forward, trying to get away from the crystal, but the siren’s hands grabbed my ankles, dragging me backwards. I snapped my fingers, and nothing happened. Was the crystal stopping me from changing forms altogether? I flailed and kicked, my arms knocking into a floating stick. No, a broomstick. My broomstick. The person who’d tossed me into the lake must have thrown the broom in, too.

  I leaned across the water in an attempt to grab it, but the siren’s grip was too strong. She let out a guttural snarl, and I cringed, but the crystal must block her siren’s song from working.

  I gave another kick, wincing as her nails dug into the skin of my ankle. “Why block your own powers?”

  “I didn’t do it on purpose,” she snarled. “This was supposed to be easy. You promised.”

  I frowned at her whining tone and looked up at the bank to see who she spoke to. Casey, Terrence’s fellow student. He still wore his academy uniform. He must have sneaked out of school to come here. But why was he here?

  “You’re the killer, then?” I gave another kick, and the siren’s grip broke long enough for me to lunge for the broomstick.

  As my hands closed over its end, the broom’s magic kicked in. I hung on as it shot up out of the water, and the siren dove under with a screech when my flailing feet almost hit her in the face.

  Casey took a step back. “Don’t come near me. I still have this.” He held up the shard of glass, and the broom faltered beneath me. As it dropped, I leapt for the bank and landed on the edge.

  Casey waved the shard of glass at me. “Don’t come near me, Blair, or I’ll have to kill you, too.”

  “You killed Terrence… over the siren, right?” I debated grabbing my wand, but as long as he held the crystal, none of my spells would work. I was trapped between a siren and an unpredictable teenage wizard.

  “Not just her.” His face was pale, his hands trembling. “He asked Sherry out, too. He always took what was mine.”

  Careful, Blair. He was unpredictable, but that meant it might be possible to talk sense into him. “Tell me what happened between you.”

  “I met the siren a few weeks ago,” he said. “Terrence tried to talk me out of meeting with her, but he was jealous. And then a couple of weeks ago, she gave me the crystal piece as a present.”

  “She gave you a piece of broken crystal as a present?” I frowned.

  He shrugged. “Well, yeah. I’d been complaining about how Terrence always beat me in class. You know I was meant to be in his place as a Vulture on the Sky Hopper team? But he took that from me, too. I thought about springing the crystal on him during the game. Let him see what it feels like to be humiliated.”

  Vulture… right, they were the most important team members. I should have remembered the rivalry Helen had mentioned, but it hadn’t crossed my mind that a fellow Sky Hopper player might have killed Terrence. “But you used it on him by the lake, right?”

  “As a test.” His mouth pinched. “I didn’t expect it to shut down his magical power.”

  “So you didn’t mean him to drown,” I surmised. “But you still meant him harm. And the High Flier, the one who died—the same happened to her, too.”

  He paled. “Yeah. I didn’t know the crystal would still keep working when it was in the water. But we had to cover our tracks. That woman on the broomstick, she spotted one of the pieces of crystal and flew to pick it up…”

  “And it cancelled out the spell on her broomstick. But the High Fliers fall into the water all the time and are usually fine.” I turned to the siren, who’d emer
ged from the lake.

  “I didn’t do it!” she yelped. “The girl drowned because of those ridiculous robes she was wearing. They got caught in the weeds and stopped her from swimming to the surface.”

  True. Her death had been a genuine accident. Not that the siren wasn’t at least partly guilty, considering she’d just tried to drown me.

  “We had to cover our tracks,” Terence said. “Which means disposing of you, too, Blair.”

  He held up the crystal shard. It’d stop his own magic from working, but I couldn’t use my wand or even my glamour. My wings were locked away. Of all the times not to have my levitating boots… but even they might not work.

  On the other hand, I did have the element of surprise. And I knew the forest better than he did.

  I moved to the left. So did he. His movements were unsure, nervous. He was aware that as long as he held the crystal, he couldn’t hex me any more than I could use my own magic against him.

  “Get her!” he yelled at the siren. “Drag her back in the lake. Drown her.”

  The siren shook her head, her glossy hair billowing in the water. “I don’t want to hurt anyone else!”

  He advanced towards the ledge, not taking his eyes off me. The crystal shard glinted in his hand. If I tackled him, I might be able to take it, but odds were, both of us would fall in.

  “I told you to kill her,” Casey half yelled at the siren. “It’s not that hard.”

  “You don’t have to listen to him,” I said to her.

  “Yes, she does, because I can block your powers.” He waved the crystal shard. “Have you any idea what it’s like to always be bottom of the heap?”

  “You know, I do,” I said. “I’ve spent most of my life at rock bottom. Also, you know, I might take you more seriously if I hadn’t just found out my mother died. Nothing you say or do could ever be worse than that, Casey. Sorry.”

  His eyes went wide. “Your mother died?”

  “Yes.” Without warning, I lunged at his free hand, and the crystal shard went flying. I felt when its power passed out of range, the rush of freeing power. I snapped my fingers and my wings came out.

  The next second, his wand was in his hand. He must have had it up his sleeve all along.

  His face contorted, and he took aim at me, but at the same moment, the broomstick took flight, soaring out of the water to the bank. He watched open-mouthed as I grabbed it by the end, swinging wildly and knocking his wand flying out of his hand.

  He swore and backed away, but the crystal shard had landed in the water.

  “Hand me that crystal back,” he commanded.

  “I won’t!” the siren shouted back. “I won’t let you bully me anymore.”

  “I’m not a bully,” he yelled.

  “No, you’re a murderer.” I grabbed my own wand with my free hand. “You and I are going for a little walk to the police station. The new one, with its fancy high-security jail. You’ve seen rock bottom: next you’ll get to see a state-of-the-art police facility.”

  He roared in anger and lunged at me, but before he could make contact, Sky appeared behind him. At the sight of the giant shaggy beast, Casey yelped in alarm, tripping over the ledge into the lake.

  I threw the broom in after him as he yelled and thrashed around in the water.

  “I’d suggest you hang onto that while I call the…” I trailed off. My phone had been in my pocket when I’d fallen into the water, so calling the police would have to wait. But I’d bet the siren wouldn’t help him out this time around.

  “Miaow,” said Sky, who’d turned back into his cat form.

  “Thanks, Sky.” I waved my wand and levitated Casey out of the water, then cast a binding spell to tie his hands together. “Can you watch him while I fetch the police?”

  “Miaow.” Sky padded up to Casey, who paled.

  “Don’t hurt me, monster cat,” he said.

  “He eats humans,” I told him, giving Sky a grin. he must have known I was in trouble and rushed to help me. Familiar or not, he was loyal to a fault, and he’d probably given Nathan’s dad a day to remember.

  The quickest way to get someone was through the forest, so I moved in that direction. As I did so, a group of elves emerged from the bushes.

  “Blair Wilkes,” said the king’s guard. “The king requests your presence.”

  “Not the best timing,” I said. “Maybe come back later? I kind of have a murderer tied up here. Unless you’re willing to fetch the gargoyles yourself—”

  “Miaow,” Sky interjected.

  “You can do it?” I looked at the elves, then at Casey. After today, I’d be locking myself in my room where nobody could disturb me for a week. “All right. Let’s get this cleared up, then.”

  With the killer in custody, the police wouldn’t have reason to throw the blame at the elves. I hoped everyone would stay out of Annabel’s and Bracken’s way this time. They both deserved that much.

  16

  I’d much rather take a nap than deal with the elves, but I forced myself to keep moving. After what Nathan’s dad had told me, I wasn’t sure there was room in my head to accept any more surprises about my family.

  We passed between the rows of spear-wielding elves on the way into the elf king’s lair. I didn’t stop to talk to anyone. I’d also forgotten to cast a drying spell after I got out of the lake, so I left a trail of damp glitter all over the tunnel floor, but nobody commented on it.

  The elven king looked down at me as I knelt before him. “I heard you handled the murder investigation without any of my people being locked up, Blair.”

  “I did. I was waiting for the police to show up when your people brought me here,” I said pointedly. “Anyway, you had something to tell me about my family, right?”

  “Yes,” he said. “We have been communicating with that pixie of yours.”

  “Wait, you understand him?” If they could, then they knew exactly what my father had said to him. I had only the letters, not the words.

  “He’s a simple creature, but can be understood,” he said. “It seems your father wanted to give you a warning.”

  “Oh.” My brief flash of hope died. “I know. He already sent me a letter. Which I ignored. I’m not leaving the town.” Where else was there to go? Besides, I still wanted to learn who my mother had been, even if I had to accept that I’d never get to meet her now. Fairy Falls was my home.

  “Not that warning,” he said. “He wanted to warn you that if you see or encounter any other fairies, you’re not to speak to them.”

  “Other fairies?” I blinked, confused. “If you mean the sirens, or the nereids…”

  “I do not,” he said. “He specifically meant other fairies. People like you.”

  “There aren’t any. Not here.” Which made his order to leave the town make zero sense. Unless… “Are there other fairies? Coming to town?”

  “He didn’t tell us,” said the elf. “But he asked us to warn you not to speak to them.”

  “Sure he did.” Anger spiked. “I suppose he told you my mother was dead while he was at it.”

  A moment passed. “Your mother… no. He never mentioned her.”

  I checked to see if I felt any better. Nope, I didn’t. “Well, she’s dead. I don’t have any other family, do I? That’s also what I—I wanted to ask him.”

  “He didn’t mention any, Blair.” If my ears weren’t deceiving me, there was sympathy in his tone. He also hadn’t yelled at me for interrupting. Maybe I was growing on the ill-tempered elf king. “The fairies left this town a long time ago. In other places, too, they went into hiding. But he seemed to believe they’re coming back.”

  The fairies… are coming back?

  I didn’t know how to feel. The news of my mother’s death had carried my emotions away on its wings, and it’d be a while before I could really process what he was telling me.

  “So he told me to leave. Go back to the normals.” I shook my head. “And the pixie—why tell you and not me? No offence.
It’s just that I could really have used his help this week.”

  Then again, the pixie was a magical creature himself. For all I knew, the enchanted glass would have stopped him from flying or worse.

  “Pixies are inexplicable creatures,” said the elf. “Almost as much as humans are.”

  Speak for yourself. “So that’s it?” I said. “Have you spoken to Bramble and Twig yet?” The two were noticeably absent from the tree-cave—not to mention Bracken, but I’d expected him to still be with Annabel.

  “Yes,” he answered, his expression shadowing. “They will both face punishment at the court’s hands for misuse of magic and endangering human lives. As will Bracken.”

  “Good,” I said. “Wait—Bracken as well?”

  “It sounds as though he behaved recklessly.”

  “I guess,” I said, recalling the magical lightning. “But it was mostly those two. They’re the ones who dropped the crystal ball in the lake, and it’s dangerous to anyone living in there.”

  The elf king lifted his head. “Yes, it is. I’ve decided their punishment shall be to swim into the lake and extract all the broken pieces of crystal in person.”

  “Sounds fitting to me,” I said. “Uh—and did you hear the two of them talking about leaving town?”

  “They did tell me, after some persuasion,” confirmed the elf king. “Absurd, of course. The forest might not be the safest place in existence, but it’s our home.”

  Mutters broke out among the other elves in the cave. One of them spoke up. “Are you sure, your majesty? There have been incidents on our territory lately… just today, two of our people spotted a cat chasing a human out of the woods with a broomstick.”

  “They spotted a what?” said the elf king, while I tried not to laugh. Oh, Sky. Nathan’s family might think twice about paying another visit anytime soon.

  Of course, I still had to speak to the man himself… which was another matter entirely.

  I cleared my throat. “If you don’t need me, I left a murderer tied up by the lake. Can I make sure the police managed to find him?”