by Elle Adams
“Logical thinking,” she said. “However, that doesn’t explain the other murders in the woods.”
“Another elf was found, right?” I asked. “Yeah, I heard. I’m not sure how the monster attacks link to the murders, but I do think Lord Anderson is involved in some way. At this point, he looks the guiltiest of everyone I’ve spoken to.”
I was sure I was right… but who was killing the elves? A vampire would have no reason to set monsters loose when they came equipped with sharp teeth of their own.
“I see,” she said. “Have you told the police this?”
“Nathan was going to,” I said. “But I can’t see an elder vampire submitting to being jailed without a fuss, nor the gargoyles pulling their usual interrogation tactics on him. Do they even account for the fact that vampires can pluck their questions from their minds before they even speak aloud?”
“No, unfortunately,” she said. “But the werewolves are still at the police station. If they figure out your theory…”
“They might strike first.” I nodded. “Yeah. That’s what I’m afraid of. This requires a delicate hand, and nobody has one of those. Including me. I don’t know if the police really think that Keith did it, either. I think he’s innocent. But my word isn’t enough for them, even though he directly said he didn’t do it. On the other hand, so did Bryan.”
She seemed to turn this over in her mind. “I’ll speak to Madame Grey. As for you, I’d suggest you go home.”
Dismissed again. I was far from in the mood for magical lessons, and after the latest revelation, I was a little concerned for my cat. On the other hand, Alissa would be working right now. I wished I’d had the chance to look around the hospital, but with gargoyles at every corner, I shouldn’t push my luck.
I left the building—and stopped, staring ahead. Two people walked past, one of them moving with the grace and swiftness of a vampire.
The other was Nathan.
I remained still, my gaze following them. They leaned closer to one another as though conversing in conspiratorial whispers. Uneasiness stirred within me. That wasn’t Vincent. It was Lord Anderson. The man I suspected must be the killer.
I’d told Nathan I suspected that guy. Why was he hanging around with a murder suspect?
He must be questioning him. Of course he wouldn’t trust the police to handle the matter, but talking to him in public seemed odd. Let alone walking together through town, conversing in low whispers like old friends. Something in their manner bothered me, not least the fact that Nathan had implied he’d let me talk to Lord Anderson in person, as long as he went with me.
I hung back, debating. On the one hand, Lord Anderson would clam up the instant he saw me if he really was the killer. On the other hand, I was the one with the ability to sense lies, and I couldn’t hear a word they said. I wished I’d looked up an eavesdropping spell or something similar, but there was no time.
I cast my mind around for the spells I’d memorised. The hidden spell might do the trick. It was a basic spell that witches and wizards used when they went to a normal town or city, like a simple version of the wards that kept the town hidden. I pulled out my wand, and waved it carefully. While I didn’t turn purple or start flashing with disco lights, the only way to really test the spell was to walk directly in front of someone and see if they noticed. Unfortunately, Nathan was trained to see through disguises, and vampires’ enhanced senses mean there was a strong chance it wouldn’t work on him, but I could at least follow closely behind them without being seen.
Their path turned off the high street, and continued towards the forest.
I switched on the levitating boots, more to stop myself from tripping than anything else. If I’d been alone, this wouldn’t be a smart move, but I trusted Nathan. Even if walking into a forest alone with a vampire was the sort of thing he’d tell me not to do.
I followed them down the path, hoping that the general forest noise would stop the vampire’s enhanced hearing from picking up on me, while Nathan would be too preoccupied to look behind him for Blair-shaped shadows.
“The elves aren’t here,” Nathan said in a low voice.
“They’re not pleased,” said the vampire. “They might be quiet, but they will not forgive whoever trespassed on their territory.”
He doesn’t know, then?
“No,” said Nathan. “I suppose not. Do you think the werewolves plan to attack the vampires before the case draws to a conclusion?”
Hearing those words from Nathan’s mouth turned my blood to ice.
“Maybe they will,” the vampire murmured. “Perhaps we will get to the bottom of this sorry case and there will be no need for panic at all.”
He slipped away with vampire grace, leaving me staring at Nathan’s back.
What did he mean by that? Was Lord Anderson not guilty after all? But if so, who else might have left the flowers?
I didn’t bother with stealth. I remained standing there on the path while Nathan turned back to retrace his steps, and folded my arms. “Care to tell me what that was about?”
13
I wished I could read lies from Nathan’s expression as easily as his words, because he wasn’t saying any at the moment. His mouth pressed together. “Blair,” he said. “You shouldn’t be in here.”
“Please tell me that wasn’t what it looked like,” I said.
“What did it look like?”
“Are you kidding me?” I said. “He—you know I had him listed as a suspect. The person who tried to kill me. Why talk to him alone? What did he say to you?”
He looked drained. If I didn’t know better, I’d say a vampire had taken a bite out of him. I surreptitiously looked at his neck, just in case.
“What is it, Blair?” he asked.
“Just checking for bite marks,” I said. “That, or you’ve been replaced by an impostor. What were you doing with him?”
“Discussing the case,” he said.
“In the forest?” I waved a hand to indicate the trees. “The same forest you found two dead bodies in—three, if you count the werewolf. And where another vampire was bitten by an unknown assailant.”
“I thought it best to get his side of the explanation, somewhere we wouldn’t be confronted.”
“What is his side?”
“He’s not the killer, Blair.”
“Then who?” I queried. “He fits the description. He’s on the suspect list, he’s a vampire, he’s read my thoughts and—” He knows I’m a fairy.
“He’s concerned about the potential war with the werewolves,” Nathan said.
“Did you not think it suspicious that he and Lord Goddard were rivals before he died, and he asked to speak to me in person like he was desperate to cover his traces? We know there’s a vampire involved in this. Even if you discount the fact that the werewolf victim had bite marks on him, Keith got attacked in this very forest, by a rogue who still hasn’t been caught yet.”
“I know the vampires haven’t helped their own case,” said Nathan. “But it was Lord Anderson who stopped the other vampires from swarming the wizard’s house.”
“I think he might have been a little too late with that,” I said. “The wizard’s gone, and if the vampire isn’t guilty… who did it?”
He shook his head. “I don’t know. I’m no more of a detective than you are, Blair. Does Madame Grey know you’re here?”
I blew out a frustrated breath. “No. Come on, I saw the guy I like walking into the forest with a vampire I thought was the person who tried to kill me the other day. You can’t blame me for getting a bit suspicious.”
His expression softened. “No, I don’t fault your inquisitiveness. It’s one of the reasons I was drawn to you to begin with.”
“What, when I was lost and wandering around the lake?” I said. I miss that. Not the confusion, but that weird sense of security that had pervaded ever since I’d arrived in Fairy Falls. Even now, the forest hinted at tranquillity, from the faint rustling noises to the
subtle smells of the flowers witches gathered to use in their potions. It just seemed unfair that one person could undo all that peace virtually overnight.
Nathan took a step towards me. “Absolutely. Are we still on for our date on Friday?”
“Assuming no more bodies show up and we don’t wake up to vampires and werewolves at each other’s throats? Sure.” Despite my utter exhaustion and frustration, maybe we could temporarily put all this behind us. “But Madame Grey practically has me under house arrest, and you’re pretty much in agreement with her.”
He raised an eyebrow. “You seem to have dodged her relatively easily.”
“I’m going to get into trouble for this, and you know it. I figured that even if Lord Anderson was the villain, you’re the one person I wouldn’t mind having around in a creepy forest.”
“Thanks. I think.” He smiled briefly. “I’ll walk you home. Is Alissa at the hospital?”
“Yeah, I was going to meet her after her shift finished.”
“Then we’ll head there, to make sure both of you get home safely.”
“Yeah.” But she’s not the target. I am. Secrets writhed inside my chest like a nest of serpents, but who might be listening out here? Vampires—like the one who’d disappeared into the woods yet moved swiftly as smoke on the breeze. Maybe it was for the best that I had a bodyguard. I found myself relieved that we hadn’t gone that far into the woods. Though Nathan’s insistence that Lord Anderson was innocent put my theories about the murderer back at square one.
The gargoyle security guard at the hospital gave me an accusing stare as I walked up to the doors. “Your friend just left,” he growled. “If you keep disobeying the orders of your superiors, you’ll be lucky to last out the week.”
I rolled my eyes, turning my back on the gargoyle. “Nice. I didn’t think the gargoyles were invested in my well-being.”
“If Madame Grey’s calling the shots with the police, it can only be a good thing,” Nathan commented.
“Better hope she can talk the werewolves out of going to war.”
There was a pause. “It’s speculation,” he said. “I asked Lord Anderson because I wanted a vampire’s viewpoint on the issue, but as long as the werewolves don’t push the vampires into outright conflict, the situation shouldn’t escalate.”
So he knew I’d been eavesdropping on him and Lord Anderson… and more to the point, while his words hadn’t exactly set off my inner lie detector, they did give off a vibe that wasn’t entirely truthful, and he didn’t quite meet my eyes.
“I can’t blame you for getting curious,” he said. “But I wish you’d consider your safety.”
“I am. So is everyone else.” I indicated the gargoyle’s hulking form outside the hospital. “Anyway, what about your safety?”
“Mine? I know the forest like the back of my hand, and I’ve dealt with most paranormal creatures at some time or other.”
“Doesn’t mean you know what this one is, right?” I scanned his face for clues. “Why didn’t you ask me to speak to Lord Anderson? You knew I wanted to.”
I didn’t want to argue with him, but the presence of the gargoyle close behind was a reminder that despite his obvious concern for me, he and the witches would happily wrap me in bubble wrap until the case was done. And until then? Bye, bye, freedom.
“Never mind,” I said, ducking my head. “Forget I asked.”
Mostly, I didn’t want to listen to him lie.
I hurried the rest of the way home, and found Alissa unlocking the door. “You look like Sky put mice in your underwear drawer again,” she said.
“I think I wrecked things with Nathan,” I said quietly. “He was with Lord Anderson. You know, the guy I thought was the culprit.”
Her eyes widened. “What? Seriously?”
“Yep. He thinks the guy’s innocent. If anyone other than you or him had said so, or maybe Madame Grey, I wouldn’t believe them. We’re looking for a rogue vampire. One with a personal interest in me, if I was the target.”
“And if not?” She walked ahead of me into the flat. “I think the intention was to get the two of us out of the investigation. We weren’t the original targets.”
I chewed on my lower lip. “I just wish I knew how it all fit together. The werewolf got bitten before he died. The vampire died by a method that’s likely to have been used by another vampire. The elves were probably attacked by an animal. Maybe our villain’s pet. That, or he’s trying to keep people out of the forest because he’s hiding in there.”
“Er, wasn’t Nathan wandering around the forest anyway? Not to mention the werewolves, or elves. Otherwise I’d say you had a point.”
“Right, but the killer uses poison. They might also have bitten Keith. I mean, he was in the forest. Maybe he saw something. I doubt being in jail is helping.”
As her face fell, I wished I hadn’t spoken.
“Yeah,” she said. “Believe me, the hospital nearly kicked me off my shift early because I kept texting my grandmother and leaving messages for the police, too. They’re not going to get any answers out of him using intimidation.”
“Doesn’t look like Keith is getting a questioning at all. I can’t believe I told Nathan that I suspected the vampire of murder and then he went and made friends with him.”
“Somehow I doubt that’s what’s going on.”
“It’s frustrating, whatever it is,” I said. “I trust Nathan. I hate that he seems to think it’s his duty to keep me out of harm’s way by not getting me involved at all.”
“Wait, aren’t you supposed to be going on a date with him on Friday?”
I dug my hands in my pockets. “Yep. Apparently, we’re still on, but given what Madame Grey is like at the moment, I’m not sure she’ll let me. And I’m still keeping secrets from him. So having a go at him for being less than truthful is going to backfire in my face when he finds out.”
“You’re not wrong.”
I gave her an eye-roll. “I know, I know. I’ll tell him on our date. Assuming Madame Grey doesn’t send us an armed escort.”
Alissa said, “How do you know she won’t?”
Oh, no.
“This,” I said, “is not a date. By any stretch of the imagination.”
Nathan and I sat uncomfortably at the central table in the Troll’s Tavern on Friday night. Most of the other tables were empty. Witches milled around, not even bothering to hide that they had their wands primed for action. There was also a gargoyle outside, who’d glowered at me when Nathan and I had walked in. Two witches stood in the corner, occasionally casting a tracking spell over the whole bar to light up the whole place and turf out any potential lurkers. Nobody was using the pool tables.
Everyone who came in either left immediately, or picked a table in the centre. Hence our positioning. Dating should not take place under a spotlight with armed security. Especially when the person I was dating was security.
“This is unnecessary,” I added, when Nathan didn’t respond. Neither of us had done much more than pick at our food. He looked tired enough to pass out in his beer glass. “Just how much did all these people cost to hire?”
“Less than the guards outside your house.”
“That doesn’t make me feel better.” I pushed my mostly-full plate aside and took a sip of cocktail in the hope that it’d banish my bad mood. “Maybe we should have done this another time. This isn’t the place for a private chat, either.”
“It could be. There are spells.”
“Privacy spells?” I grabbed my wand and accidentally turned the ceiling transparent. A dozen witches immediately jumped in to correct my mistake, their wands moving fast enough to make my hair stand on end.
“Can we help you with anything?” asked one of them, a pink-haired witch.
I felt kind of bad for being so annoyed with them. They likely hadn’t been given much of a choice when Madame Grey had pressured them to follow us on our date. “Privacy,” I said. “I take it we aren’t going to be allowed to
walk home alone.”
“We’ll keep a respectable distance, Miss Wilkes.”
“Not for making out,” I accidentally said aloud. Oops. I reeled my voice into calmness. “Er. I mean, we actually want to discuss something important where nobody else can overhear.”
“If you desire,” said the witch.
She waved her wand, and I turned to Nathan, blushing to the tips of my ears. Not for making out. Great one there, Blair.
“Not that I don’t want to make out with you,” I blurted. “Just not—I mean the appropriate time—”
“Don’t worry about it,” he cut in. “What did you want to talk about?”
I grimaced. “If this is what dating you is going to be like, I think I’ll stick to spending all my spare time with my cat.”
“I did want to be here, Blair.”
My muscles turned to jelly. Go on. Tell him.
“I have something to tell you,” I squeaked. “I’m really sorry I didn’t say sooner, but—”
Sparks shot from my wand, which I’d stashed in my pocket. “Ah.”
No sound came out of my mouth. My wand had gone off… and cast a silencing spell.
I pulled the wand out, and all the glasses on the bar turned into toads. Croaking filled the pub, while the witches hastened to undo the damage with such efficiency that I kind of wanted to order them to go after the killer instead of wasting their time guarding me. Finally, my voice—and Nathan’s—came back.
“I’m sorry!” I said. “Honestly. My magic is out of control. And that’s what I wanted to talk to you about. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you before, but I’m a fa—”
He wasn’t looking at me, but at his phone. “I’ve been called out,” he said. “Another body in the woods. You were saying?”
I opened and closed my mouth again. “A body?” Was I eternally doomed to be interrupted whenever I tried to tell him the truth?
“Yes. I’m sorry to cut our date short, but I need to go to the police station.”
The witches immediately surrounded us. “We’ll escort you home, Miss Wilkes.”
