The Witch's Key

by Sarra Cannon

  “I was just asking whether you wanted to head back out to the clearing at first light for a little more training,” she said. “I feel like we made really good progress today, but there’s a lot more we could do with a few hours tomorrow.”

  I groaned. Everything ached. But I needed this. We had no idea what we might be facing tomorrow.

  “I’m up for it,” I said. “I just might need an extra cup of coffee first thing.”

  Martin nodded. “Of course,” he said. “But for now, maybe it’s time for you to rest, dear girl. I have left some healing balm in your bathroom for what’s left of those burns. It should also help with your sore muscles.”

  “But there’s still so much to do,” I said, barely able to stifle a yawn. “We need to make potions and discuss strategy. We still haven’t even found Algrath. We’re running out of time.”

  “That’s why we’re here,” Britta said. “Get some rest. You’ve been through a lot in the past few days.”

  I shook my head. Days? Had it really only been a handful of days since I first started at Newcastle High? Little more than a week? It felt as though I’d stepped into some kind of time warp.

  I started to protest again, but even the act of opening my mouth to speak made me yawn again. Everyone at the table laughed, which then set me off, too.

  “Okay. I admit it,” I said, despite the fact that it was only just now six in the evening. “I’m tired. I’ll head up.”

  Besides, that bath I thought of earlier was calling me.

  “Sleep well, dear girl,” Martin said. “We will see you in the morning.”

  “Sweet dreams,” Gianna said.

  “No nightmares about bunnies,” Gowan said, winking.

  I shuddered. “Let’s hope not,” I said. “I’m never going to forgive you for that, you know.”

  Martin tilted his head. “What’s this about bunnies?”

  I patted Gowan on the shoulder. “I’ll let you tell him about what you did to me this afternoon.”

  As I left the kitchen and headed back to my room, laughter from the kitchen echoed throughout the entire first floor of the house.

  When I’d first arrived here, it had felt so dark and lonely. Martin had done what he could to make me comfortable, but I had never really thought of this place as home until tonight.

  I was halfway up the stairs and already dreaming of the bath when my phone vibrated in my pocket.

  I’m out front. Can you talk?

  I gasped as I realized it was a message from Olive. If anything, I’d been expecting to hear from Kai, but I didn’t think I’d hear a word from Olive tonight.

  And she was outside my front door? Why?

  I stood frozen on the steps for a long moment. Was Olive involved in this somehow?

  If so, I needed to be very careful how I dealt with this right now.

  This could be my chance to find out the truth about her mom. At this point, after almost dying in Olive’s living room, I was convinced her mom was part of this. I didn’t know for sure Algrath had taken Julie Peterson’s identity, but if not, she was possibly helping him or working with him.

  I took a deep breath. There was nothing to do but go out there and see what Olive had to say.

  I wasn’t stupid, though. I’d done enough to get myself into trouble for one twenty-four hour period, so I quickly texted Martin, too, to tell him Olive was outside.

  Don’t leave the property. Invite her inside, if she’ll come.

  I slipped the phone back in my pocket and walked out the front door. To my surprise, Olive wasn’t the only one standing on my front doorstep.

  Brandy was here, too.

  “Oh my gosh, what are you guys doing here? Is everything okay?” I asked, finding that I was actually really happy to see them.

  I wasn’t used to having friends or getting close to people my age, but seeing them out there, waiting for me, put some things into perspective.

  Especially seeing the tears in Olive’s eyes.

  These weren’t demons. These were just normal teenagers who’d lost some of their friends. They were scared and confused, and they just wanted answers.

  “What happened?” I asked, walking over to Olive and taking her hands in mine.

  “I don’t even know where to start. Have you seen my mom?”

  Her question took me by surprise.

  “Your mom?” I asked. “Why would I have seen her?”

  Olive shook her head, tears flowing down her cheeks. “I don’t know. I’m grasping at straws here,” she said. “I was trying to think of anywhere she might have gone, and I keep coming up empty. I thought maybe she’d brought a cupcake over to you earlier. She was making something special for you this morning when I left for school.”

  Well, this was news.

  “A special cupcake for me?” I asked, not missing the fact that she’d also made a special cupcake for Peyton right before she disappeared.

  “Yeah, she wouldn’t tell me what flavor, but she said she wanted to do something nice for you since you’d seemed so upset about Peyton,” Olive explained. “Besides, Mom bakes when she’s nervous.”

  “And when she’s happy. Or celebrating. Or when she’s depressed,” Brandy said.

  Olive laughed through her tears, wiping her face on the sleeve of a white Sir Bean hoodie. “Okay, she bakes all the time. But she seemed excited about making this for you. I was hoping maybe you’d seen her this morning when she brought it over.”

  I shook my head. “I’m sorry. She didn’t come by here at all.”

  Olive closed her eyes and sat down on the top step of Martin’s porch. “I was afraid you were going to say that. I don’t know where else to look. It’s like she’s disappeared, right along with Peyton. How is this happening? I don’t understand.”

  Brandy sat down next to her, so I settled in on the other side. We both wrapped our arms around Olive, hugging her.

  I felt terrible. What if Algrath had kidnapped her mom six months ago and had been pretending to be her all this time? Would he let her live once this was all over?

  Olive would be all alone in the world, if that was true. It wasn’t fair for anyone our age to lose our parents, and I didn’t want that to happen to her the way it had happened to me.

  If we could find Peyton and the other girls, maybe that meant we could rescue the real Julie Peterson too, if Algrath had taken her.

  I was starting to feel more and more that we were right about this, though. It made total sense that Ms. Julie would disappear after we wrecked her house and triggered that trap.

  With the ritual right around the corner, Algrath wouldn’t take any risks by going back to Ms. Julie’s house tonight. It was too risky. He’d been discovered, which meant that he had gone back into hiding, taking the real Julie Peterson with him.

  We were so close to figuring this out, but it still wasn’t enough to know who Algrath had been pretending to be. We needed to find out where he had gone now that we knew the truth.

  “I want to help,” I said. “Tell me everything that happened from the time you got up this morning.”

  Olive sniffed and nodded, playing with a deteriorating tissue she held in her hands.

  “Everything was mostly normal,” Olive said. “Mom was up early, baking again. She said she’d had a hard time sleeping. Something about her shoulder bothering her.”

  My ears perked up at this. Her shoulder?

  “What was that about?” I asked, trying to act casual about such a huge piece of information.

  “I don’t know. I guess she slept on it wrong,” Olive said. “She just told me she couldn’t sleep and had started baking early. She told me about the cupcake she was making for you, and she said she’d see me after school. Then Brandy showed up so we could ride to school together, and that was basically it. Nothing out of the ordinary. But the police won’t even let me in the house, Lenny. It has to be bad. Someone has her, I just know it.”

  “They wouldn’t let you in?” I asked. �
�I assumed you were the one who called the police.”

  Brandy shook her head. “No, it was a neighbor who called the cops. That whole area’s been on alert since LaTasha went missing, and I guess someone called it in. Said they’d heard screaming from inside.”

  Olive started crying again.

  “What if she’s dead?” Olive asked.

  “Didn’t the police tell you anything about what they found inside?” I asked.

  Olive shook her head. “Only that mom wasn’t in there, but that the place was a mess,” she said. “And my mom was meticulous about keeping the house clean. She never left a single thing out of place, so if it was a wreck, someone else must have been there.”

  “I think it has something to do with her creepy boyfriend,” Brandy said. “Have you met him?”

  I shook my head. Technically, I hadn’t met Bates. I’d only spied on him.

  “He’s gone, too,” Olive said. “I think it’s possible the cops think Mom ran off with him, but she wouldn’t do that. She wouldn’t just leave me here alone. I know she wouldn’t.”

  “Of course not,” Brandy said, stroking Olive’s hair. “It’s going to be okay.”

  But over the top of Olive’s head, Brandy met my eyes and shook her head. She didn’t believe it was going to be okay, and I wasn’t so sure, either.

  “Do you want to come inside?” I asked. “My uncle can make some coffee for us or something. We can talk more about where she might have gone or what might have happened.”

  Olive shook her head.

  “No, thanks,” she said. “I think I want to just change into some pj’s and try to get some rest. I’m exhausted.”

  “Where are you staying?” I asked. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

  Olive shook her head. “There’s nothing anyone can do,” she said. “Not unless you know where my mom is.”

  “Olive is staying with me and my family for a while,” Brandy said. “Her dad is supposed to be coming in from Michigan in a week, but he claims he’s busy with his business until then.”

  “I don’t even really know my dad,” Olive said. “I don’t want to have to go live with him.”

  “You won’t,” Brandy said. “Your mom is fine. Everything is going to be fine.”

  I took a deep breath. This was so complicated.

  The truth was here somewhere, staring me in the face, and I couldn’t see it.

  “I hate to ask this, but have things been going okay with your mom lately? Are you getting along?” I was skirting the line between concerned friend and inappropriate jerk, but I needed information. I was willing to be rude if it meant saving someone’s life.

  “What do you mean?” Olive asked. “You think she left me, too? Well, that’s just great, Lenny.”

  She stood and walked toward Brandy’s car.

  I chased after her.

  “No, of course not,” I said. “Come on, that’s not what I meant at all. I’m sorry.”

  Olive turned back. “Then what did you mean by that?”

  “Yeah, that’s not exactly the nicest thing to say right now,” Brandy said.

  “I’m sorry. I’m just trying to think through what might have happened. Like, if your mom was arguing with anyone or stressed out a lot. I don’t know, like was she not acting like herself at all lately.”

  Olive looked down at her hands for a moment before she spoke.

  “You know, now that you mention it, things have been stressful since Christmas,” she said. “I assumed it was because Mom’s cupcake business was taking off. Then, LaTasha went missing just a few doors down from us. I figured all of that was taking a toll on her.”

  “Everyone goes through stressful times, though,” Brandy said. “That doesn’t really mean anything.”

  “Maybe not,” I said. “And you’re right. Maybe it’s that boyfriend you were talking about. Is it possible she just went on vacation with him somewhere? Or maybe she’s staying at his place?”

  Olive shook her head. “I told you. She wouldn’t leave me alone like that. And she would have never left the house in such a mess.”

  “Maybe you could talk to him, though. See if he knows where she is.”

  “We tried that,” Brandy said. “He’s gone, too.”

  I didn’t want to tell them I already knew Bates was gone. Or that he was actually somewhere inside Martin’s house right now as we spoke.

  Basically, I just wanted to see what they knew about his involvement.

  “She didn’t run off with him,” Olive said, starting to cry again. “She wouldn’t do that.”

  “What if he broke up with her or something? Is there anywhere else she might have gone if she was upset? Like a favorite hotel or—”

  “We checked the lake house already,” Brandy said. “She wasn’t there, either.”

  Chills ran down my spine.

  “Lake house?”

  A secluded place out in the woods.

  “Yeah, but she wasn’t there,” Olive said. “The whole place was locked up tight. My key didn’t even work. I don’t know when she changed the locks, but whatever. She wasn’t there.”

  I was about to ask for more details about the lake house when Brandy got a text and said they had to get going.

  “My mom’s getting worried about us,” she said.

  “Are you sure you don’t want to just come in for a while so we can talk about this?” I asked. “Maybe we could think through other theories. I just want to help.”

  Olive threw her arms around me.

  “Thank you,” she said. “That means a lot to me.”

  “If you want, you could come back to my place,” Brandy said.

  “That would be great,” Olive said, her eyes lighting up for the first time since she got here. “Come spend the night with us. We can watch movies over there and try to get our minds off of it. It’ll be fun.”

  It was tempting to say yes to see what else I could get out of them. Plus, I’d never had a sleepover with friends before. Under different circumstances, that could have made for a really fun night.

  “I can’t tonight,” I said. “But maybe after Peyton comes home.”

  “Right,” Brandy said, a strange expression crossing her features. “When Peyton comes home.”

  She didn’t believe it was possible. I could see it in her eyes.

  But I wasn’t losing hope. Not yet.

  I hugged Olive again and watched as they got into Brandy’s car and drove off. Then, I climbed the steps and started to head inside.

  Before I got through the door, though, a figure appeared out of the darkness on the side of the porch.

  “What happened? Did you find out anything interesting?”

  I jumped and almost cast a spell on him, but as soon as I realized it was Kai, I lowered my hands.

  “You’ve got to stop sneaking up on me,” I said. “I almost lit you on fire just now.”

  “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you,” he said with a laugh. “I was just coming to see how things were going, and when I saw those two here, I thought I’d hang out on the porch until they left.”

  I filled him in on the Slayers’ conversation and what I’d learned while Olive and Brandy were here.

  “Do you think the cabin might be important?” I asked.

  “Anything could be important right now,” he said as we walked to the door.

  Standing here alone with him in the dark on the front porch suddenly brought up this nervous first-date kind of vibe that had me tapping my toes inside my shoes.

  I was so stupid. He was just helping me figure this out. We weren’t dating. He was probably going to leave town as soon as this was all over, anyway.

  The thought hit me hard.

  Dang. He probably was going to leave. It wasn’t like he was really a student at Newcastle High. He could come and go as he pleased, and he had to have a life to go back to somewhere.

  I still wasn’t sure what had happened to his father, either. If he didn’t get the an
swers he needed, he’d be heading out to find them.

  It would be best if I tried not to get too attached to him, but I was afraid it was way too late for that.

  “Tomorrow morning, I think we’re going back out to train,” I said. “Are you coming?”

  He nodded.

  “We have to do what we can, right?” he asked. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

  “I just wish I knew who to trust,” I said, then smiled. “I mean, you could be Algrath, right? How would I even know?”

  “Two things,” he said, slipping his arms around me.

  My breath caught in my lungs, and my heart beat faster.

  “First of all, I was there with you when Algrath attacked,” he said. “And secondly, demons don’t have wings.”

  The memory of the way he’d wrapped those beautiful wings around me earlier this morning took my breath away.

  “Yeah. I doubt the demon would have bothered to save my life, either,” I said with a whisper. “Thank you for that.”

  “You’re welcome,” he whispered.

  “Someday, you’re going to have to tell me why you even care so much,” I said.

  “When we’re on the other side of this mess, I promise. I’ll tell you everything,” he said. “Goodnight, Lenny. Get some rest.”

  “You, too,” I said, a sense of loss coming over me as he released me and stepped away.

  I watched him walk away, and I wondered just what tomorrow would bring for us both.

  With a sigh, I headed back inside and soon after, disappeared into a healing bath of chamomile.

  May My Magic Be Quick And Strong

  Despite my exhaustion, I tossed and turned all night. Images of those demons pouring in through the Petersons’ windows kept terrorizing me, and I wondered how much worse it might be when we found Algrath.

  How many demons would he have with him?

  What kind of traps would we face tonight?

  If we could find him at all.

  It was just before dawn when I finally gave up on sleep and crawled down to the kitchen to make coffee. To my surprise, everyone else was already up and eating breakfast.

  My long brown hair was like a bird nest from all the tangles, and I hadn’t bothered to brush it or pull it back this morning. I thought I would find the kitchen empty.