by Liz Schulte
As much as I wanted to rally against what Leslie was saying for the sake of pure orneriness, I didn’t. It was impossible to reconcile things I thought I knew with the things Orion told me—or with any of the house. First off, a truly dark witch wouldn’t want her identity known by everyone. It wasn’t like being evil got you anything special—other than torched by angry villagers. I would have thought she’d hide for as long as possible. Why display everything so openly?
Most of the human world didn’t believe in magic anymore, but that didn’t mean witches advertised. It wasn’t like we wanted people to suddenly believe that witches had real magic. That didn’t turn out so well the last time (Salem). Not only that, but people who deviated from the norm were often viewed as suspicious. “Maybe we should ask Jessica if she suddenly started feeling gothic while she was possessed.”
Leslie laughed lightly. “I think it’s still too soon for her to joke about it.”
That was true. Jessica handled her situation well, but it didn’t take an empath to see she still had things to work through. “What else is down here?”
Exploring the main floor didn’t lead to much. Just more of the same Halloween props. I tore all the covers off the furniture and piled them by the door, then sat down next to the fireplace and stared into the flames. Leslie sat across from me. I didn’t have to look at her. I could feel the tension in the air that she wanted to say something but wouldn’t.
“Just ask,” I finally said. Even if the question was stupid or annoying or hit too close to home, it was better said and out there than it was hanging around us.
“Who found you when you were living on the street? Who recognized what you were? Are you still in contact with him or her?”
“Sy,” I said. “I think he had his eye on me for a while because he didn’t look surprised the night I showed up, and he seemed to know everything right from the start. Well, not everything—but what I was and that I didn’t know. I must have gone past the Office a hundred times without ever noticing it, then one day this…” How could I even begin to explain what I saw when I looked at Sy?
“God amongst men?” Leslie said, grinning. In their own way, everyone in the coven had a bit of a crush on him. Well, except Selene. He had sort of become our mascot.
I laughed. “I was thinking frat boy with Peter Pan Syndrome. But whatever. He found me and told me everything: why people can’t touch me, what I was, what my mother had to be, how I could protect myself, and where I could fit into this world. He fed me, trained me, and gave me a job.”
Leslie smiled. “That sounds like Sy.”
I nodded. “He can’t resist a stray.”
Leslie looked down at her lap, brow furrowed. “No one should think of themselves as a stray. We all have purpose; we all have a reason to be here.”
I ran my thumb over the straight cool lines of the key around my neck as I remembered that day so clearly. “I’d had a really bad night. Like one of the worst of my life. It was winter, it was Chicago, and I had nowhere to go. Out of desperation, I joined some other people under a bridge, but then…” I shook my head. “There were five of them coming toward me, surrounding me. I don’t actually enjoy killing people, you know? It’s not a power thing. If anything I feel more helpless after it happens. It just reminds me that no matter what I do, I really have no control over my life. The curse is in charge and it always will be.”
Leslie nodded. “You took your gloves off.”
I nodded. “It was me or them. If I were in the same position now, I wouldn’t do anything different. But then I couldn’t stay. There were five dead bodies and witnesses everywhere. I had to get out, so I ran, but it was so cold and I was so hungry. My muscles felt like they would snap in half. I heard sirens and in my mind they were coming for me. I ducked into the darkest alley I could find and hid. When I felt safe again, I came out and there Sy was, bathed in light. The Office looked like heaven behind him. He didn’t ask questions. He just invited me inside and gave me food and made me hot chocolate. He said I was too young for coffee.” My eyes filled with tears. I stopped talking until they went away. No one had ever treated me gently or like I was young until he found me. “He let me stay in his apartment until I could afford to get my own. I don’t know what my life would have been like if I hadn’t gone down that alley. Well, I guess I do. I’d either still be out there surviving or I’d be dead or maybe something darker would have taken me in.”
Leslie wiped tears off her cheeks. “Does he know?”
I looked over at her. “Well, he was there.”
She shook her head. “Obviously he knows what happened, but does he know how you feel about what he did for you?”
I looked back at the fire. None of that mattered. He knew. He was there. He didn’t need a pat on the back for it. Sy was smart. He could figure it out.
“Frost, you can’t just assume that other people understand how you feel. We have to share with others. If I changed someone’s life like that, I’d want to know.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” I said to the flames. Sy was a big boy. Besides, our story didn’t exactly end there. Saving a young impressionable necromancer was all fine and dandy, but when you’re a tall, good looking half-elf doing it, not letting the girl fall in love with you is imperative. Not that I blame Sy for it, but he was also my first real heartbreak. I spent a long time wishing he’d look at me with anything other than friendship in his eyes, but he never did. I wanted too much to be loved and he couldn’t be that person—deep down I knew that. One touch from me was death to him. I never hated what I was more than the day I understood that some odds would never be overcome.
Leslie was quiet for a long while, staring into the fire, her chin resting on her knees. “Have you figured out what the key goes to?”
I lifted it out of my shirt and held it up. “The door, I assumed. This house is pretty old. It could still have skeleton keys, right?”
Leslie shook her head, eyes flickering toward the door. “The doorknob is too new, I think. I imagine it takes a regular house key.”
I got up to check. She was right. There was no way this key worked on the outside doors, but maybe one inside? But none of them fit the skeleton key either. Orion probably knew, but it wasn’t like he’d tell me anything—or not for free anyway. Information always came on his terms and normally it was to lead me to whatever conclusion he wanted me to make. Basically, super annoying. “Is there a basement?”
“If there is, I don’t think we can access it from inside. There aren’t any stairs, at least none that I’ve seen. Maybe there’s a hatch or something in the floor. Or maybe the entrance is outside like a cellar or something. Bundle up if you decide to go out,” she said, squishing down into the corner of the couch.
“You aren’t coming.”
“No, I’ve been cold enough for one day. You’ll be fine. I believe in you.” She covered herself up with her own coat. “I’ll be here, warm by the fire.”
I zipped my coat and pulled my hat down securely over my ears. The icy gust hit me as soon as I opened the door. Obviously, Orion was in a mood that matched my own. I tucked my face into my scarf and began the search for a cellar door or any indication that there was another level to the house. The snow was easily past my ankles and drifts against the house that were even higher.
“Who are you?” A strange voice made me look up. “You’re trespassing.” A woman with long straight dark brown hair and almond shaped eyes glared at me as I rounded the corner to the back of the house.
“Who are you?” I shot back with a glare of my own. “This is my property.”
She shook her head. “That’s impossible. And I asked you first.”
I rolled my eyes. “What are you going to do if I don’t tell you? You’re the one who is trespassing.”
Her hand sparked with magical green light and she smiled without humor. “Well, it’s not going to involve calling the police. Now I repeat, why have you come to the winter witch’s home? What d
o you seek? Anyone who takes anything from inside will be cursed and death will come quickly after.”
“The winter witch? Do you mean Winter Darkmore?”
Her eyes widened. “You dare speak her name. Insolence!”
I took off my glove one finger at a time and held it out to her. “Well, curses are something I know a little bit about. Frost Darkmore.” Speaking my last name made my chest squeeze, but I powered through it. No one was going to intimidate me. Not today, not ever.
The woman moved to shake my hand, but I pulled back and put my glove back on. “Get out of here. This place definitely isn’t for tourists.” This woman knew nothing about magic. The green light was probably little more than a trick meant to scare regular people. “I think you should get off my land before I actually do let you touch me.”
“The coven will hear about this,” she said, like that was a threat. If they were half as dumb as her, then I was safe.
“I look forward to it,” I said. “Leave.” I waved my hand in a shooing manner.
“I’ll be back,” she said, trudging through the snow into what looked like a field behind the house.
“I’ll be here,” I said.
I glanced at the snow along the rear of the house. One area appeared to be raised from the rest. Either there was something under it or that drift was higher than everything else. I went over and pushed the snow away until I came to a padlocked wooden cellar door. The skeleton key didn’t fit into it.
“Could you use assistance?” Orion asked, standing so close I could feel his body heat.
“A key?” I shivered beneath my layers. “Less wind would be great too.”
“Alas, I gave you the only key I have.” He placed his hands on my shoulders and heat poured from him into me. My knees threatened to give way. “And the wind is out of my control.”
“Why do I not believe you? Oh, that’s right. I’ve seen you manipulate it.”
“Or perhaps you refuse to see that what is in your best interest might also be in someone else’s best interest not to give you immediately. We always appreciate the things we earn more than those that are given to us. Don’t you think?”
“I wouldn’t know. Nothing is given to me. And no one is ever concerned about what’s in my best interest.” Sure there had been one or two exceptions, but as a general rule it was true.
Orion nodded then looked down at his hand. “Will you look at that? A table for the pity party of one just opened up.”
I leaned into him, still enjoying the warmth despite the mockery. “You are the worst spirit guide to ever walk the face of the earth.”
“That may be true. I did lose track of you when you were small. It took me a long time to relocate you again, but when I did, I always kept an interested eye turned in your direction. I know more about you than you have allowed most to see.”
My spine stiffened and I pulled away from him. “But it didn’t occur to you to help me out a little?” I wasn’t going to be won over with something as simple as a little warmth.
He shook his head. “You weren’t ready yet.”
“What does that even mean? When did you lose me?”
“When Fredericka died. Do you remember her?”
The first woman I could recall living with was tall with long raven hair that was always in a single braid down her back. I have no idea how long I was there, but she knew the rules when it came to me. Her long black gloves stuck in my memory like they were a part of who she was. She used to hum softly and rub my back until I fell asleep.
“Did she have long dark hair? She was pretty, I think?”
“That sounds right,” he said.
My last night with her there was a storm. Lightning and thunder crashed down around the trailer where we lived, shaking it as the walls seemed to suck in and out with pressure. I lay in bed trembling, too scared to move. Then sparks erupted outside my window and I screamed. She rushed into my room and took me in her arms. No gloves on. Dead instantly.
That moment set the course of my life. Frost became more than just a name that night. It was my approach to life. It was my salvation.
“I remember her,” I said, and I could feel his eyes drilling into me. I straightened my already straight shoulders. “Now I need to concentrate on getting this open. Stop distracting me with the past.”
He squatted in front of the padlock and touched it. Ice and cold poured from his finger. How could someone so warm put out something so cold? After a few minutes he stood up. “Give it a try.”
I stomped on the frozen padlock with my boot, and it shattered beneath the pressure. “Thank—”
But he was gone.
I opened the cellar doors and climbed into the darkness.
6
JESSICA
Donavan raised a serious eyebrow. “I can pour you a drink if it’d make it easier.”
It didn’t matter if he dumped an entire bottle of scotch down my throat, I wasn’t giving him a quote. “You can go to hell,” I said, standing up so fast I knocked the chair back. “How’s that for a quote.”
His lips pursed and he tilted his head to the side. “Kind of cliché.”
If I still had my magic, I would have turned him into some sort of bug and stepped on him.
He broke out laughing. “You should see your face. Steam’s practically pouring out of your ears. I’m joking. I’m not writing about you or any of my theories…yet. I just wanted to see you squirm.”
“Hilarious.” I didn’t bother picking up the chair. I was still leaving. This man was impossible.
“Seriously,” he said, trying for sincere and falling completely short. “I don’t have anything against your store. This is a small town. Public opinion matters and if I look like I’m trying to make trouble where there is none, I’ll lose even more readers. But I would like to be a part of whatever investigation you do. As I said earlier, I have a feeling about this case and obviously I’m not the only one or you wouldn’t be here glaring at me.” He came around his desk slowly and righted the chair behind me. “Please sit down.”
I shook my head. “I don’t know that we have anything else to discuss. I’d like to look at the files, but you’re right. What sort of investigation could someone like me actually do? I mean most of my time is spent sitting in my occult shop thinking about ways I can con stupid people out of their hard earned money. I couldn’t possibly contribute to society in a meaningful way.”
“See, I knew it,” he teased, but I wasn’t ready for teasing. I was still pissed off. “It really was a joke.”
“You wouldn’t know anything about real magic if it bit you on the ass.”
“Is that right?” He sat on the edge of his desk. “I guess we do have something to talk about then. Educate me on real magic.” Though he didn’t use them, I could hear the air quotes.
“I don’t make a habit of wasting my time. Why would I try to explain anything to someone as closed minded and obtuse as you? I’m taking the files and I’m going back to my store. I don’t care what you personally think of us, but if you print one slanderous word against me or my store I will own this paper.” I strode out of his office, shoulders straight and head high.
Katrina may have been a great witch, but she had shitty taste in men. That should have been my first warning that Donavan would be nothing but trouble. By the time I got back to the store, my mood was worse than ever.
The door jingled when I entered, but Katrina didn’t come to the front. Strange.
“Kat,” I called out.
“Oh good, it’s you,” she yelled back. “We have a bit of a problem here.” Her voice was strained and slightly muffled.
All crabbiness disappeared. What was wrong? The strangler immediately came to mind. He’d already killed two people on the list. What if he came back? This could be trap. I grabbed the baseball bat we kept in case of emergencies. My legs moved slow as I crept forward, watching for an intruder and fully expecting to find Kat tied to a chair or something.
That wasn’t what I found. Not even close.
The floor, couch, and coffee table were completely covered in debris and Katrina was darting around the room with a basket in her arms trying to catch the hair ties, bobby pins, and socks that were raining down from the ceiling.
She blew her hair out of her face. “A little help?” she said.
It looked like her spell worked after all, maybe a little too well. I pressed my lips together to keep from laughing. Static was so thick in the air, my hair lifted. “Perhaps we should have been more specific about what we wanted back.”
“Ya think?” A sock hit her in the face and she spit it out. “I swear it’s doing that on purpose. That’s my fourth sock in the mouth.”
I laughed.
“Help me,” she said, somewhat more high pitched than before.
“Use your magic.”
“I tried,” she said miserably. “It made it worse. Things just came faster. I might have multiplied it.”
I reached out and caught a hair tie, using it to pull my staticy hair into a ponytail. “I don’t think we can do anything other than let it run its course.”
Her eyes grew big and she shook her head. “I don’t think you understand the gravity of our situation. Do you have any idea how many of these I’ve lost in my life time? We’ll be buried alive. This basket is the fourth one already.”
Katrina’s powers had grown so much after taking mine that she was still trying to get a handle on them. When she tried to stop the spell, I had no doubt that she made it worse than ever. “Perhaps we shouldn’t cast any more spells for a while,” I said.
“That’s not helping.” She stopped running and carried the full basket into the back office and I followed. I held open a trash bag as she poured everything in, once again blowing her hair out of her face. I held up a finger and reached into the bag, grabbing two bobby pins. Then I fastened her hair in place.
“Don’t say I never did anything for you.”
She shook her head. “You could have at least tried to stop it.”
