by Bella Falls
It was my turn to be surprised. “You do not!” I exclaimed with genuine awe and curiosity.
She shrugged. “You’ll have to come visit to see.”
I tried to stand up so I could thank her properly and see her out, but she warned me off with a wave of her hand.
“Thank you for taking the time to check on me,” I said, nodding my appreciation.
She pointed at the back of her head. “Keep that ice pack on there for a little longer. If basic meds stop working and you find yourself in too much pain, please ignore him,” she jabbed her thumb in Dash’s direction, “and get yourself to a hospital.”
“Will do,” I promised.
Dash followed her to the door, and I enjoyed the temporary moment of peace without him hovering over me. Louder voices echoed from the front of the big house, and Georgia came bursting into the room and rushed over to me.
“Are you okay?” She glanced over my whole body looking for damage.
Davis followed behind her, carrying a folder in his hand. “Tell me it’s absolutely true that you stood up to one of the pack members in a fight.” He punched his brother on the arm. “You should have told me so I could be there to watch. Who was the opponent?”
“Silas Turner. Charli used her powers to figure out who was dealing drugs, and it led them straight to him while he was working at the garage,” Dash explained.
His brother frowned. “Sy was dealing the hard stuff? That’s not his usual stash.”
“And what would you know about what was his ‘usual?’” Dash interrogated.
Davis rolled his eyes. “Oh, come on. Not everybody is as square as you. Sy was known to deal a little pot here and there. His brownies were exceptional.”
“Great, I have a druggie for a brother,” Dash complained.
“Which is worse, having a brother who, from time to time, enjoyed a substance to help take the edge off of his crappy life? Or one who can’t shift at all?” He didn’t wait for his brother to answer. “Ding ding ding. That’s right, folks, his brother is a two-time loser.”
“Davis, your pity party and dramatics aren’t helpful right now,” Georgia scolded. “You need to take both of them down a notch or two. Or heck, turn over a new leaf and make the rest of the day the first time you don’t moan and groan about your life.”
All three argued with each other, and the incessant banter affected me almost worse than getting hit by Silas. I raised my hand in the air like a child in school and waited for them to notice me.
It took a long moment before they quieted down and Dash called my name. “I take back what I said before. Maybe I’m not as tough as I think, and y’all should treat me like I could fall apart any second if that would mean you would be quieter.”
“Sorry, Charli,” Davis said with actual contrition in his voice. “I still think it’s absolutely cool that you stepped up to a pack member’s challenge. I’d love to hear all about it.”
“How about some time later when I’m not still aching from the whole thing,” I offered with a weak smile.
Elodie carried a loaded tray into the room. “Once I put this down and my hands are free, I’m knocking all of you upside your thick skulls for disturbing the patient.”
Dash hustled to take the tray from her and set it down on the nearby coffee table. The older woman picked up a specific mug and brought it over to me.
“Here, dear. I figured you shouldn’t have caffeine in your state. So, I made you some hot herbal tea.” Elodie handed me the cup. “Or if you’d prefer, I could get you some water. Maybe you’d like iced tea instead.”
“Stop your fussing. I like hot tea just fine.” I winked at her and took a small sip to test the temperature of the drink.
Georgia grabbed a plate of cake and a mug of coffee before settling down at the other end of the couch from me. Davis followed suit, tossing his folder on the table and grabbing a chair next to the window. He dragged it over so he could sit closer to us. Dash refused both food and drink.
“Caro seemed to think you both had news to share.” He stayed standing, his attention flitting over to me more often than it should.
“So, we’re done with the niceties?” Davis joked. When his brother scowled at him, he chuckled.
Georgia set her plate down and licked her lips. “You were right about the drugs. What I tested was very similar to the kind that Kash had pack members dealing. It was laced with refined goblin fruit.”
I was sure that Mason would know exactly what they were talking about with all of his warden experience from up north. “Why does it matter if there was fruit involved?”
Georgia shook her head. “Goblin fruit is something that Kash’s pet witches introduced when they took over the pack. It’s a magical substance that boosts the effects of the drugs it’s mixed in with but then also increases the craving for it exponentially.”
Davis’s typical smile faded. “If any mortals got their hands on it, it would bring their lives to a very nasty end. But for supes like us, who can typically handle a lot more than regular humans, it can turn us into raving addicts.”
Dash swore loud enough that all of us flinched. He walked over and looked out the big windows. “I thought we’d gotten rid of all of it from before. Whoever’s dealing that crap must have kept a stash of it hidden in all of our searches.”
His brother grimaced. “Whoever’s involved, I truly doubt it was Silas.”
Dash turned to face him. “Why’s that?”
“Because based on my incredible hacking abilities and investigating the finances of the pack, I’ve figured out who must be the dealer,” Davis said.
“Who?” I asked, leaning forward.
Davis looked up at his older brother. “It’s you.”
Dash pointed at himself. “Me? If this is one of your jokes, now is not the time,” he warned.
His younger brother stood up. “I’m not kidding. I found files that make it look like someone’s been cooking the books. Two different records for everything. One that appears to be legit and one that tracks a whole lot of mysterious transactions. That second one? It very clearly links back to you.”
“I don’t know how it could,” Dash countered. “Is there some way to erase it all?”
“If I did that, then whoever’s doing this will know. Right now, that person has no idea that we’re clued in, and that gives us the advantage. But I’ll repeat again. Silas ain’t the guy.” He patted his brother’s arm in sympathy.
My stomach turned at the realization, and I wrapped my arms around my middle. “Frosted fairy wings,” I exhaled.
Dash rushed over to my side. “Are you feeling nauseous? Maybe you do have a concussion.”
I shook my head. “It’s not that. If Davis is right, then Silas had every right to challenge me. Because it means my magic got it wrong. And I actually did accuse an innocent man.”
Realizing what his revelation had done, Davis dropped all of his bravado and approached me. “Believe me, Sy ain’t innocent. And it’s highly possible he was dealing drugs of some kind. You’ll have to ask him yourself.”
“How do you know it’s not this guy behind everything?” Georgia asked.
The two brothers snorted at the same time. “Because he’s too stupid to pull something like this off,” Dash said.
“I printed everything out and brought it with me if you want to see,” Davis offered, pointing at the folder.
The two brothers abandoned the refreshments and moved to the dining area so they could lay everything out on the table.
I attempted to find a comfortable position on the couch, grunting a little as my body continued to let me know just how hurt I actually was.
“I can’t believe you got into a fight,” Georgia said, trying to help me.
“There were reasons, and they seemed pretty good at the time.” I thanked her for her assistance and sat back against the fluffy couch cushions.
“I can’t believe your boyfriend didn’t come up here and stop it,” she sa
id.
I scrunched up my face. “That might be because I didn’t tell anybody from back home.”
“Charli!” she admonished. “You know everyone’s gonna tear you a new one when they find out.”
Closing my eyes, I let out a long sigh. “I know. It’s all the fault of the binding. If we hadn’t done it to ourselves, we wouldn’t be in this situation in the first place.”
Georgia watched me with worry in her eyes. “Well, I’ve been making a little progress trying to contact Maybelline. Several of Mystic’s ghosts assure me that she’s still around, although I haven’t been able to contact her directly. Sounds like I need to kick it up an extra notch so we can get the two of you separated for good.”
In the silence that followed, I wallowed in a sea of regret. If Dash and his brother were right, then somehow my magic had failed me, and I had gotten Silas in trouble for nothing. It had also been my suggestion for Lucky to bind me to Dash since Mason had been stuck outside of Honeysuckle at the time. We could have tried to find another way or given more thought to the overall consequences before going through with it. But we hadn’t.
Here I was in Dash’s territory, trying to play as if I wasn’t an outsider to pack life. What had I been thinking going through with the whole challenge? Pack politics shouldn’t have overruled good sense. And the fact that I hadn’t talked to Mason or Nana about it all meant that I knew something wasn’t right. At the same time, I didn’t need either of them to fight my battles or choose what I did or didn’t do.
The more I wrestled with my guilt, the more my thoughts swirled around in my head and mixed with the pain in my body until it became too much to take. I groaned a little under my breath.
“I’ll have to face the music soon enough,” I said, dreading the calls I would need to make tonight. I pulled out the spell phone and stared at the screen.
Georgia patted my foot. “Well, if they kill you, then at least I’ll talk to you when you cross over.”
Her joke piqued my interest. “Sweet honeysuckle iced tea! That’s it!”
“What’s it?” she asked.
I sat up, my excitement chasing away my pain. “You can see and talk to ghosts.”
“Uh…yeah. Why is that important?” Georgia’s eyes widened in alarm like she thought I’d lost my mind.
“I don’t know why Dash didn’t think about it before,” I said to myself.
“Okay, maybe you’ve had a little too much excitement today—”
I leaned forward and grabbed her arm to stop her from patting my foot again. “Don’t you see? If we want to find out what happened to Zachary Owens, then why don’t we actually ask him?”
It took a few seconds for Georgia to understand. When she did, her lips curled up in a half smile. “Whatever happened to your head, it didn’t impair your ability to think things through. Hey, Dash! Come in here!” she called out.
Davis entered the room but shook his head. The serious expression on his face worried both me and Georgia. Dash entered with his phone up to his ear. He spoke a few words, but I could feel a sense of frustration coming from him. The tingles of warning filled my insides, but I waited in silence for him to finish his conversation.
He ended the call and blew out a sigh. “That was Max on the phone. He says I need to come to the hold where they were keeping Silas.”
“Why?” Davis asked.
Dash kept looking at his phone. “Because Silas is dead.”
A sharp silence followed his statement. Davis cursed under his breath.
“Did Max say how?” I pushed.
“Overdose,” Dash replied. “Seems like he had some of the same drugs stashed in his belongings and found a way to use them after the fight. Max said that he left a note that I should read that admits his part in Zach’s death.”
“Then I guess everything’s over.” Georgia looked around the room at all of us. “Right?”
The alarms still pinging inside of me said otherwise. “I don’t trust it.”
“Me neither,” agreed Dash. “But I don’t know if that will change anything. I still need to go there and see for myself plus speak with Max.”
“I’m coming with you,” his brother said.
“No, you should stay here,” Dash insisted.
“Just because I can’t shift into my wolf doesn’t mean I’m completely useless,” Davis complained. “And you should have backup.”
“Cameron will be there, and I doubt there will be much of any kind of risk.” He placed a hand on his brother’s shoulder, but Davis shrugged off his touch. “Besides, you can help take care of Charli.”
“Based on my gut instincts,” I raised my eyebrows at Dash so he got my meaning, “I’m not about to stay behind.”
“You’re already injured enough. I can’t put you at further risk,” he protested.
I pointed at the back of my head. “If this means what I think it means, then I have no intention of sitting here waiting to see if we both get hurt again. If you’re going, then I’m going. We do this together.”
Georgia pointed at me. “If she’s going, then count me in. Two witches will be better than just one.”
“And if they’re going—” Davis started.
“Fine!” Dash shouted. “Then I guess we’re all heading to find out what the heck happened to Silas.”
Elodie gave me a Christmas tree farm sweatshirt to wear along with one of her oversized puffy jackets. By the time she finished bundling me up, including a handmade scarf and hat, I looked like a blue snowman from the waist up.
“I don’t approve of this. But I know better than to try and get in any of y’all’s way.” She locked the door behind her as she followed us outside.
“Where do you think you’re going?” Dash asked.
“If you think I’m gonna let y’all have all the fun, you’ve got another thing coming. Besides, we’re gonna have to take more than one car, and Cameron will have my behind if I let anyone else drive hers.” She shook her keys at Dash for good measure.
“Great. So, now I’m accompanied by an injured witch, a brother who can’t shift, an old woman—”
“Hey!” Elodie shouted in complaint.
“—and a witch who sees ghosts,” he finished. “If Dad could see me now, he’d roll over in his grave.”
Georgia shot a fierce look at the space to Dash’s left, and I wondered if she could perceive the two brothers’ dead father at that moment. I figured it wasn’t polite to ask if she didn’t volunteer the information.
Once we talked to Max and got him to tell whatever details he had about Silas, then I would propose my idea to Dash and see if we could communicate directly with Zach and figure out who killed him before anyone else got hurt.
Chapter Seventeen
When we arrived at the stark warehouse building where Silas had been taken, we found the parking lot outside full.
“This doesn’t bode well,” Davis observed.
I cursed the Gray sisters and their annoying gift to me as the warning tingles were tearing me up inside. Whatever we were walking into, it wasn’t going to be good.
Elodie and Davis exited the car, but Dash stayed put right next to me. “I can feel it, too,” he admitted.
“Something bad is waiting for you in there,” I agreed. “If I got this strong of a warning during a fight, I’d be ducking out of the way.”
Dash stared at all the different vehicles. “I need to go in there and face whatever is happening.”
Elodie knocked on her daughter’s car door before opening it. “I hate to tell you this, but Cam just texted me. She told me to keep you from coming in.”
“What does she say is going on?” I asked as Dash stared out the window in brooding silence.
“Best she can tell from what everyone is saying, it’s an ambush of several pack members wanting to challenge his leadership.” She dipped her head at the man sitting next to me.
“What about Max? What’s he doing?” Dash uttered.
Elodie�
�s phone pinged. “I don’t know, but it sounds like he might be with them. Cam just told me to tell you to get out of here before someone spots you.”
Dash unbuckled his belt and opened his door. “A good leader doesn’t run away from his people. He listens to them and considers their complaints.”
“That’s not what this sounds like,” Elodie warned.
I tugged on his shirt, trying to keep him in place. “For once, I agree. Facing things head-on is going to create more problems. We should go so you can make plans how best to handle things. If you go in there, then you’re doing it on their terms.”
He took my hand in his and squeezed it. Then he pulled his clothing out of my grip. “I need to do this. But you don’t.”
I unbuckled my seat belt and forced my way out of the car before he could stop me. “If you’re going in to face a firing squad, then I’m going to be right there with you.”
“What’s going on?” Davis asked.
Elodie filled him in quickly while the rest of us trailed behind Dash as he stalked his way through the parked cars towards the warehouse.
He paused for a second next to a minivan. “That belongs to James and Lucille.”
“Zach’s parents,” I explained to Georgia.
“The dead kid’s?” she clarified.
With even more determination, Dash marched into the warehouse. The second he entered in front of us, we heard a murmur of discontented voices rising in the air.
“Our boy was taken away from us, and he’s hiding away on that tree farm playing house with a witch,” Zach’s mother accused. “And now, his negligence has allowed someone supposed to be under his watch to die.”
“Now, hold on,” Cameron’s voice countered. “Silas’s innocence was still in question. Even more so now that he took his own life.”
A male voice I didn’t recognize rose above the others. “We don’t need to listen to anyone of your kind. I don’t know why you were allowed to serve as third in charge.”
Elodie growled and her eyes glowed. “I’m gonna tar and feather that man,” she spit out. “Talking about my baby like that.”
“And what kind is that, Andy?” Dash shouted from behind the angry mob.
