His lips formed another reluctant smile. ‘Insist away, Wanda. You might as well get all your cheeky requests out of the way before I start laying down the law on Monday.’
‘Yeah, right. Anyway – this is what I insist upon.’ I swallowed nervously. ‘I want to tell more than just Paul. And I want to start with Max. And maybe Melissa, too. Max, because it’s getting awkward keeping my secret lair a secret, seeing as he lives with me. And Melissa because ... I think she has some skills that could help us.’
‘Oh? What skills?’
I shook my head. ‘Skills that I won’t divulge unless she gives me her permission. So ... what do you think?’
He ran his hands through his hair, looking pensive. ‘All right. But make sure Max promises not to tell your dad. You know the two of them get closer by the day. I don’t want to get your parents’ hopes up on this before we have anything concrete. Plus ... it could be dangerous, Wanda. If you tell Max, he could become a target.’
‘I know,’ I said quietly. ‘But here’s the thing, Finn. I’ve had the wiggiest feeling for a very long time. Whoever is watching me has to know Max and I are close. Which means he’s probably already a target. If Max knows the score, then at least he can take steps to protect himself.’
A look of fear took over Finn’s face. ‘You know what? I just realised how right you are. We’ve been not telling people we care about in order to protect them. But keeping them in the dark might be the worst thing I could have done. I said I was a prat a minute ago. Yeah, I think maybe I was more than just a prat. I think maybe I’ve been a stupid, blind idiot, Wanda.’
I squeezed his hand in mine. ‘Everything we’ve done, we’ve done for the best,’ I said. ‘Now come on, let’s get back in there. Twelve has a cup of tea with my name on it.’
15. Totally Not Under a Spell
I arrived home to silence. The TV wasn’t on, nor any music. I glanced at my watch. It was one in the morning, so I guessed that made sense.
I made my way into the living room and plonked down on the couch. I was too exhausted to bother turning on the lights. Paul was sure that the microwave was a teleportation device, or at least that it had been. When he opened it up, he found a wiz-board inside – a sort of motherboard, but way more complicated. Like much wizard technology, it was made with materials derived from OUPs – objects of unusual power. When it was in working order, the microwave would have been able to transport anything from one place to another. It seemed to have a small transportation field inside, but it was capable of emanating an even bigger field, if necessary – which would explain how Barry had disappeared.
And if the wiz-board hadn’t been fried, Paul might have been able to tell us where Barry might have been transported to. The keypad, he told us, was used to input coordinates. Although it had been wiped, he thought he might have a chance of retrieving some of the more recent coordinates. He said he’d work on it for as long as it took, and he was always true to his word.
And yeah, Paul was now a member of our Major Crimes team. He agreed all of two seconds after Finn asked him to join. I smiled at the thought. For months now I’d been telling Max that things were changing. But I was never sure if I believed it, or if I merely hoped. Now, change really was happening, and quickly, too.
Hiring a wizard as a Peacemaker – correction, a Wayfarer – was a big deal. A fizz of excitement surged in my stomach as I thought of our new force, the Wayfarers. Like weredogs, wizards had been hired by witches to do a lot of jobs, but they were never paid fairly. The Wayfarers would be the first employers to offer equal wages for all.
A light went on across the room, and I jumped. Max was sitting in the armchair in the corner, a hangdog expression on his face. ‘Sorry. I just woke up a minute ago and then I was afraid to frighten you. Hey, it’s really late. I thought ... I thought we were having a night in together.’
I looked at him, and then looked away. He was wearing jeans and nothing else. His shoes, socks and a pink T-shirt sat beside him on the floor. Wait one cotton picking minute – I knew Max’s wardrobe in and out, and he didn’t have a pink T-shirt. I peered closer. It wasn’t pink. It just looked that way, because the once-white cotton had been stained by red wine.
My eyes suddenly took in the rest of the room. It was clear that a tidy-up had taken place, but some remains of whatever happened were still evident. There was a dustpan sitting on the coffee table, with broken shards of glass within. The curtains by the front window were stained the same shade of pink as Max’s T-shirt – though I could see that an attempt had been made to sponge them clean. Now I understood Max’s hangdog expression.
‘It’s all right,’ he said. ‘Bowie and Wolfie are up in my bedroom. They slept right through it. And Dizzy is out for the night.’
‘Slept right through what, Max?’ My hand went to my chest, feeling how fast my heart was beating with worry. ‘Did someone come here? Did they try to hurt you? Are you okay? Is Melissa all right?’
He looked down at his stomach and cleared his throat. ‘Melissa is fine. She said she’d text you.’
‘Oh.’ I reached into my pocket and pulled out my phone – apparently I’d been too interested in Paul’s attempts at cracking the microwave to notice it was buzzing. I read the message from Melissa:
I’ve booked into the Hilltop Hotel for tonight. Don’t come see me, because I’m still too embarrassed to talk about it. I’ll tell you everything in the morning.
I stared up at Max. ‘What the hell happened?’
He shrugged his shoulders, looking thoroughly baffled. ‘I want to tell you, but I’m honestly not sure. Melissa ... well ... she went a bit weird. She bought this really expensive wine, and she was all dolled up and everything, but I thought maybe she was just going out later or something. And I didn’t really think it mattered, anyway, because I figured you’d be home soon. But then she said you were out for the night, and that’s when I really started to panic. Because she was ... well ... she was full-on. Pushing herself up against me, and saying how we should go upstairs. Wanda ... she told me she’s in love with me.’ He shuddered. ‘And I mean, don’t get me wrong, she’s beautiful and all, but how the hell is she in love with me all of a sudden when she hasn’t been before? She’s mad about Jasper’s mate, isn’t she? Mack McAdams?’ He sat forward, his expression turning from confused to serious. ‘Wanda, I think something’s going on here. Hear me out, because I’ve been going over this all night long – ever since I turned her down and she went bat-poop crazy and threw a glass of wine at me, anyway.’
‘Okay. Tell me.’ I looked at the takeaway cartons on the coffee table. ‘But is that tofu? Because if it is, then can I eat while you talk?’
He laughed fondly, a laugh that sent shivers all through me. ‘Of course you can. I got all your faves. Anyway, about Melissa. Actually, about everyone. Don’t you think something weird is going on, Wanda? Ever since the night Nancy Berry was killed, every woman in your coven has been behaving oddly. Your mam. Ronnie. Christine. And I watched Agatha’s speech on TV today, too. What was that all about? Gushing over a guy she’s only been with for five minutes?’
I shrugged. ‘Yeah, I guess so. I mean, I’ve been putting it down to the moon and Imbolc. Imbolc is the start of the romantic season for witches. It’s natural for us to be a bit more amorous for a few weeks around this time of year. And I’ll admit that even I’ve been feeling ... a little strange, just lately.’
He looked at me, swallowing. ‘Oh yeah? Strange how?’
In the dim light I could see his eyes shining, looking intently into mine. My appetite began to wane and I pushed the tofu away. ‘Just ... I don’t know. Have you been feeling strange?’
He swallowed again. ‘A bit, yeah. But Wanda, I have to be honest. I don’t think it is Imbolc. Not with me, anyway. I think it’s just something that’s been brewing a long time. Something that’s been right in front of my face, but I’ve been too stupid to notice.’
I wiped my forehead, feeling a tad clammy
and warm. ‘Yeah. Yeah I’ve been having a touch of that myself.’
‘Have you?’ He sat forward, a hopeful expression on his face. A look that made me fill with hope. Could this really be a two-way thing? I felt my heart skip a beat.
‘Max ...’ I tried to think of the right – and least embarrassing – words in which to explain myself. ‘I kind of ... well ... I sort of ... so, you really aren’t interested in Melissa?’
He shook his head fervently. ‘No. Not remotely. I’m interested in … someone else.’
‘Oh.’ A small smile was trying to form, but I refused to get ahead of myself. He could be talking about anyone. ‘Like … someone I might know?’
He bit his lip. Good goddess, why was that so sexy? ‘No. Not like someone you know. More like ... more like someone in this room right now.’
Okay, slow down, Wanda. Pace yourself. Because let’s face it, he had to be crazy, right? He had to be affected by the moon. Or Imbolc. Or … did I already mention the moon?
‘I was looking forward to spending the night in with you,’ I admitted. ‘But then Melissa turned up, and she kind of made it obvious she had a crush on you. So I figured I should leave the two of you to it.’
He stood up, shaking his head. ‘There was nothing to leave us to, Wanda. I told you, I don’t feel anything for Melissa. It’s you. It’s always been you.’
I’m not sure when it happened, but I was standing up too. Actually, scratch that – I was walking. I’d somehow progressed from sitting, to standing, to walking, without knowing when I’d done any of it. And not only was I walking, but I was walking directly into Max’s arms.
He held them open, and welcomed me in. ‘Oh, Wanda,’ he said. ‘I can’t believe this is finally happening.’
‘I know,’ I murmured. ‘I’ve always known you were gorgeous, and perfect. It’s just taken me way too long to realise that you were perfect for me.’
‘And you’re perfect for me,’ he said, covering my face in a flurry of tiny kisses that made my heart go wild. ‘You’re the prettiest, loveliest woman I’ve ever seen. I thought it from the beginning, but I just didn’t ever imagine us actually being a couple. But now ...’
His lips finally met mine, and I kissed him eagerly. Hell, I’d go so far as to say I kissed him wantonly. You know how some old ladies like to call younger women wanton hussies? Well, that was me all the way. Hands roving everywhere – through his gorgeous hair, along his perfectly toned body, heading for the waistband of his jeans. ‘Wait.’ A thought was trying to nudge its way through the loved-up fog of my mind. ‘You don’t think that whatever’s been going on with the others ...?’
He looked deep into my eyes. ‘Could be happening to us?’ He shook his head and smiled. ‘Nah. Whatever’s going on with the rest of your coven is weird, for sure. But I don’t think it’s what this is all about. You and me … we’re totally not under a spell. I just think that with all of the love in the air, we’ve finally noticed each other. I mean, think about it – you and me are perfect for each other. Everyone’s always saying it. Rover tells me we smell like a couple. Your dad says if he could choose a boyfriend for you, it’d be me. And we’re already practically a couple, anyway, bar the lovey dovey stuff. I mean, we like all the same things. Half of the time we even finish each other’s sentences.’
‘And sandwiches,’ I reminded him.
He let out a husky laugh, making all sorts of things rush to all sorts of places. ‘You mostly finish mine. But I never mind. I always make extra because I know you’ll want some. I sometimes think I’d be happy to make you sandwiches the rest of my life.’
‘Veggie bacon?’
‘Of course. Tomorrow?’
‘Definitely. In the morning?’
‘In the morning, in bed,’ he said.
‘Definitely in bed. Y’know, when we wake up together.’
Just like when I’d crossed the room, I realised that –without knowing when or how – we were now halfway up the stairs, kissing like crazy in between every word, his hands feeling like the loveliest thing ever as they moved. ‘Wait,’ I said. ‘I should probably tell Gabriel first. I should call him before we ... y’know. I don’t like the thought of cheating.’
Max pulled away slightly, and groaned. ‘You’re right. I should call Emily, too.’
‘Mm hmm,’ I agreed. ‘Let’s just have one more kiss before we do that.’
‘Yeah,’ he said, dragging me towards him once again. ‘Or maybe two more.’
Just like before, the moving without knowing how was happening. But come on – when you’re busy kissing gorgeous weredogs and having the most amazing feelings in the world, you can’t really be expected to keep track of your body’s position, now can you?
Somehow, don’t ask me how, we had made it to my bed. I already knew Bowie was curled up in Max’s room with Wolfie, so at least we didn’t embarrass the poor things with our fumbling and smooching. Max was just about to undo my belt when he said, ‘Hey, you’re ringing.’
I glanced down at my mobile, held in his large, manly hands. ‘Forget it,’ I said. ‘I’ll call them back.’
A moment later, Max’s pocket began to buzz. ‘They can leave a message,’ he grunted.
‘Uh huh. Hey, you’re an amazing kisser.’
‘You too,’ he said. ‘It’s like we were born to kiss each other.’
We stopped talking, and resumed kissing. Somewhere in the background, I could hear a thudding noise. It could have been my heart, I guess – it was certainly beating fast enough and hard enough. But there was a musical sound, too, interspersed with the banging. What was that? I definitely recognised the tune. But it’d come back to me in a while. Later. When I was finished with the kissing. Dear goddess, I didn’t think I ever wanted to be finished with the kissing.
‘Wanda!’ Finn’s voice called through the letterbox, loud and worried. ‘I don’t want to magic myself in there in the middle of the night, but you need to let me in! Wanda! How many more times do I need to ring your doorbell and bang on your door? Wanda, my aunt’s been murdered!’
16. Johnny Be Bad
Max and I sat up, not completely unravelling ourselves from one another, but at least making efforts in that direction.
‘We’d better go let him in,’ said Max, his voice reflecting the reluctance I felt.
‘Yeah. We’d better.’
Before I could button up my shirt, Wolfie’s voice sounded close by. ‘Someone’s at the door,’ he said sleepily, peeping his head into my bedroom. ‘Hey ... are you playing wrestling?’
I looked at Max. Both of us had the messiest hair in the world, and there was more of my lip gloss on him than there was on me. ‘Yeah,’ Max said. ‘We were wrestling.’
‘Oh. Can I play?’
I quickly buttoned up my shirt and jumped from the bed. ‘Not now. Not ever,’ I said as I ran down the stairs. As I pulled open the door, Finn’s panicked face was staring back at me. There were tears at the corners of his eyes, and his usually fair complexion was pale.
I dragged him inside and pulled him into my arms. As soon as I did he started to cry, great big sobs that I could feel all through me. ‘I ... I don’t know why I’m crying,’ he said. ‘She was the evilest woman on the planet. I mean, it’s not so long ago that she ordered her henchmen to murder us.’
‘I know.’ I smoothed down his hair. ‘I know. But she was still your aunt. And it must be a terrible shock. Come on. Let’s go and get you a cup of tea, and you can tell me what happened.’
By the time I led Finn into the living room, Max had descended the stairs. He had pulled on a T-shirt, and he was wearing slippers on his feet. He’d managed to rub most of my lip gloss off his lips as well, thank goodness.
‘I heard what you said, Finn,’ he said quietly. ‘I’m really sorry. Well ... y’know ... I mean ... anyway, I’ll just go and stick the kettle on.’
As Max moved about in the kitchen, Finn stared around our living room. ‘What the hell happened here?’ He
picked up the dustpan filled with broken glass, and pointed to the curtains. ‘Someone went after you guys?’
I shook my head. ‘No one went after us,’ I said. ‘We’re fine. It was just ... well, I don’t really know what it was. Anyway, tell me what happened. How could she have been murdered? She’s in the maximum security wing at Witchfield. No one could have gotten in.’
Finn shuddered, and pulled out a small device. ‘I have it on HVR,’ he said. ‘I think you should watch it.’
‘The only thing I have to play holovisual recordings is in my other room,’ I said. ‘And Max is here.’
‘Weren’t you going to tell him about it?’
Max chose that moment to come in with Finn’s tea. ‘Tell me what? What other room are you going on about?’
I sat back, and groaned. A few minutes ago all I could think about was how good it felt to be with Max. Now, reality was crashing in.
‘It’s something I was going to tell you this evening,’ I said. ‘Come on – let’s go back up to my room. There’s something up there I need to show you. That’s all right, isn’t it, Finn?’
Finn nodded. ‘Yeah. Especially considering what you’re about to watch on the HVR.’
≈
We sat in the Operation Long Leash lair, watching the recording Finn had obtained from the prison. Max had taken everything we told him incredibly well. I’d worried that he would be upset at my keeping secrets for such a long time, but he seemed to understand that all we wanted was for everyone to be safe.
I would never get used to watching holovisual recordings. They’d been invented shortly after I abandoned the witching world, and even though I’d watched quite a few since my return, they still had the same visceral effect as the first time. It was like being there. The people were three dimensional. Their words and their cries played in surround sound. All that was missing was the smell. But seeing as I’d been to more murder scenes than I cared to count, I could kind of fill in the gaps on that one.
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