A Witch Too Hot

by Paula Lester

  When she arrived backstage, there was a flurry of activity in the large room. She saw Sirens Stu and Valencia chatting in one corner. A flash of raven hair caught her eye. Lumen stood near a vanity, one hand resting on a corner of it while, with the other, she shook Sheriff Lloyd’s hand.

  Why would the sheriff be wishing Lumen luck? She was the pick of Ray’s people, not his. It didn’t seem likely that he’d come around to the campground owner’s way of thinking since he’d just arrested the man.

  Cas thought about trying to sneak close enough to hear what the two were saying, but then Siren Albert appeared in front of her. She blinked. It was rare to see the man fully awake, but he studied her with sharp eyes. “Eh, hello there, girl.” His propensity for calling her that, even though she was fifty years old, apparently hadn’t faded.

  She smiled at him. “Hello, sir.”

  “It was quite astounding to hear Denzel talk at the indicium today about the trials you’ve endured trying to determine your element.” His voice cracked, and he had a short coughing fit. Cas felt concerned. He appeared quite ancient. Perhaps they’d be having another siren election sooner than later.

  When he stopped coughing, she said, “It has been interesting, that’s for sure. I guess I must be an air elemental.”

  His bushy gray eyebrows moved closer together, and he suddenly leaned forward and sniffed.

  “Nope. You’re not Air.”

  “How can you tell?”

  “Because I’m Air.” He puffed out his chest, proud of his element. “We all have a specific scent, you know. Quite pleasant if I say so myself. Sort of like the air after a springtime rain. That’s us.” He nodded, convinced what he was saying was true.

  “Oh, well. I do wish you luck figuring out what you are. And I hope you hold your own in these debates.” He winked. “Something tells me you will.” He wandered off, leaning on his cane.

  Cas’ mind swirled. If she wasn’t an air elemental, and she wasn’t fire, water, or earth, what did that mean? Was it possible for someone not to have a primary element?

  By the time she dragged her attention back to Lumen and Lloyd, the sheriff was turning away from the beautiful fire witch. Cas approached her. “Is everything okay? Did he say anything about Ray and Posie?”

  Lumen put a hand on Cas’ shoulder. “Everything is fine! He just wanted to tell me he appreciates me running on behalf of the shifters. So, everything’s just fine, and you can step down like you want to.” She smiled sweetly. Cas opened her mouth to ask about Ray and Posie again, since she’d avoided answering, but Denzel’s voice called the candidates to the stage, cutting her off.

  The auditorium was huge and chock full of people. Loud people. Everyone seemed to be talking, and the acoustics in the space made Cas want to cover her ears. Denzel tapped the microphone, and everyone took the hint and quieted down, much to Cas’ relief. Four chairs were lined up behind the microphone, and the siren candidates took their seats.

  Freesia Dolman appeared to have her game face on, looking fierce and ready. Grover’s knee bounced, and Lumen looked relaxed and stunning as usual. Cas adjusted her suit jacket and crossed her ankles.

  The four sirens sat on a dais to one side of the microphone to ensure they had the best seats in the house.

  Denzel spoke into the microphone. “Each candidate will have as long as they wish to give an opening statement. Ms. Dolman will go first, followed by Mr. Flank, Ms. Oak, and Ms. Lorne. After that, each siren will ask one question, which each candidate may take five minutes to answer. Then, I have a list of four questions, pulled from audience suggestions.” He gestured for Freesia to approach the microphone.

  She was very matter-of-fact while giving her credentials. “I am the right person to elect to the High Council of Crystal Springs because I’m hard-working and no-nonsense. I can be fair in trials, strict or lenient as the matter demands. And I also have a strong desire to see more jobs suitable for witches brought into Crystal Springs. Development should be at the top of the list of things the council is doing for our community.”

  Cheers went up here and there, and Cas couldn’t help but wonder if one of the approving voices belonged to Dzovag Livings. His candidate was doing what he’d hoped she would—announcing her intentions to help people like him develop more properties in the community.

  Cas wondered again if Livings had something to do with Desi’s death. And how would Lumen’s new candidacy affect his plans? Maybe it would split the votes of those who didn’t support Freesia. That had to be what he was hoping, anyway. Maybe Ray’s people working to get Lumen nominated had played right into Livings’ hands.

  Freesia had sat down, and Grover Flank spoke at the mic. Cas forced herself to stop thinking about the murder and pay attention.

  Grover shared a mouthful and went on for almost forty-five minutes. But the audience appeared to stay engaged. His mellifluous voice was pleasant to listen to as he described his credentials and gave an explanation of why he thought he was the best person for the job.

  “As a witch who has lived and worked in dense human populations, witch-heavy areas, and predominantly shifter neighborhoods, I believe I’m well-suited to understanding the nuances involved with making sure all groups are understood and treated fairly when decisions are to be made.”

  A low murmur went up in the crowd at those words. Cas caught sight of Sheriff Noble, his arms crossed as he scowled up at Grover.

  “When it comes right down to it, all of us—human, shifter, sprite, witch, Fae, and every other being on the planet—deserves to be respected, included, and listened to. As your new siren, I will do all of that for everyone in Crystal Springs.”

  The room erupted into applause. Cas found herself clapping too. She’d been captivated by Grover’s speech, which had made her feel like he truly would value everyone. As someone who found herself straddling two worlds, his ideas made sense.

  Denzel approached the microphone as Grover stepped back toward his chair. “We’ll take a ten-minute break before the final two candidates speak. Please arrive back here promptly, out of respect for Ms. Oak and Ms. Lorne.”

  The ghost assistant floated over to the siren candidates. “For you ladies, there is another restroom one level above us. I suggest you try that one if you need facilities. There’s likely to be a long line for the one closest to the auditorium, and you’ll want to be back within the allotted time. There’s a hover pad backstage that will take you up there, and then it’s just down the hall to your right.”

  “Thanks,” Cas said, jumping up and heading straight to the pad he’d described. The coffee had gone straight through, and Grover’s long-winded speech had left her squirming. As the pad started to go up, she saw Lumen and Grover chatting backstage.

  After she arrived on the next floor and found the bathroom, Cas’ mind wandered back to Grover’s speech. One thing he’d spoken about was his understanding of humans and their motivations.

  Not so long ago, she would’ve been considered just human—a person without magic. Now that Cas did have it, she’d already begun to see life through a different lens. It made sense that the supernatural would process the world in a unique way.

  Like Sheriff Lloyd. He saw the world through the eyes of a shifter. One who assumed witches and magic were always at fault. What if it wasn’t? What if everyone had been thinking about Desi’s murder the wrong way?

  Could the death been caused by more ordinary means?

  But how could someone cause a person to drown in a waterless room without magic? She wondered about the sheriff’s prime suspects. Could Ray and Posie have used a mundane, human method to kill Desi?

  Maybe if Ray had been able to figure out a way to nominate his sister in the first place, the whole thing could have been avoided. It seemed to Cas from what she’d seen downstairs that Sheriff Lloyd approved of Lumen as a candidate.

  Cas left her stall and moved toward the sink. The door opened and Lumen breezed into the bathroom. “Oh, hi!” She looked
around. “Boy, Denzel sure was right. That downstairs bathroom has a line a mile long, but this one is nice and empty.” She entered a stall but kept up a constant chatter. Cas half-listened while her brain continued to work on a peculiar puzzle.

  Lumen had said that Ray had asked her to run for siren before he and Posie had approached Cas. But Cas distinctly remembered Ray saying he didn’t trust any witches besides her and Posie. Did that include Lumen? Did Ray not trust his own sister for some reason? As a witch, she would’ve been the perfect choice to represent the shifters. But Ray hadn’t asked her to run.

  Hot on the heels of that thought, another crashed into her mind. Ray and Posie had said no one knew about their affair, but Lumen had almost bragged about being aware of it. In fact, she suggested they just take their relationship public.

  So, Lumen knew about the secret affair. Not that odd for a sister to pick up on that detail about her brother. Family was often the first to suss out the truth about the people closest to them. Cas came to the abrupt conclusion that Lumen could have been the little birdie who told Sheriff Lloyd about Ray and Posie. It was possible other people new about the relationship. But if it was Lumen, she’d set up her brother to take the fall for Desi’s murder.

  Why?

  The answer resounded in her mind like shrill sirens in the night. Cas’ gripped the sink until her knuckles turned white.

  Lumen killed Desi.

  Or helped whoever did.

  As the water splashing over her hands changed from hot to cool, Cas twisted the knobs to turn it off. She realized Lumen had stopped talking.

  The click of the stall door drew Cas’ gaze up to the mirror. She met the raven-haired woman’s eyes there. The fire witch nodded and a tiny smile turned up the corners of her mouth. She moved to the sink next to Cas’ and said in a soft voice, “I can see you know. How’d you figure it out?”

  Chapter 18

  For half a second, Cas considered lying. Maybe she could get back downstairs and find the sheriff before Lumen could do anything.

  But she had no real evidence to make Lloyd believe her—a witch and suspect. She still didn’t know how Lumen had killed Desi and a few random comments wasn’t enough proof. If Cas really wanted Lumen to be arrested, she’d have to get more information out of the witch.

  She drew a deep breath and ignored the manic beat of her heart. “Ray told me he wanted me to run for siren because Posie and I were the only witches he trusted. I just realized that means he didn’t trust his own sister.”

  “Half-sister,” Lumen hissed.

  Cas understood the sentiment. “Sorry. Half-sister. I don’t get along with my sister and I hate it when people forget the half part,” she said, hoping to ingratiate herself. “You and Ray don’t get along either?”

  Lumen smirked at the mirror and smacked lips painted blood-red. “We’ve learned to tolerate each other over the years. But having a daddy that preferred his shifter son over his witch daughter didn’t help.”

  Lumen rolled her eyes. “Raydiant is a softy. He wants to be like the old sheriff in every Western movie ever made—a total white-hat, above-board, rule-following goodie-goodie.” She wrinkled her nose. “That’s why he’s struggled his whole life and always will. It’s why he’s in jail and I’m about to become a siren. He never could understand that there are no trophies for good behavior in life. If you want something, you just need to take it, that’s all. That’s what I’m doing.”

  “I can see that. I’ve not had real great luck doing things by the book in my own life.” Cas chuckled, though it sounded nervous and off pitch. “You were Desi’s rendezvous that night, weren’t you? The one he told me about.”

  Lumen washed her hands, pulled a tube of lipstick out of her purse and applied a swipe of red to each lip. “He told you about that, huh? Desi never could keep his mouth closed. So, what about it?”

  Cas eased her hands off the sink. She held Lumen’s stare in the mirror.

  “Hmm. What did you say?” Lumen cupped a hand behind her ear. “Familiar got your tongue?” She faced Cas. “Come now. Do you think I killed Desi? Is that what your little I’m a brand-new witch brain is thinking?

  Lumen pouted and whined like a toddler. “Oh boo-hoo. I’m old and can’t control my power. Poor me. If I heard that story about you one more time, I thought I’d scream. I couldn’t believe Ray would pick you over me to represent the shifters. It’s ludicrous!” She flipped the lipstick back into her purse and slammed it on the sink.

  Cas cut her eyes at Lumen. The mocking had triggered something new within her. The tremble that had crept into her knees a moment before stopped. “You were saying something about, Desi?” she asked, voice firm.

  “Oh yes, true, I digressed. You suspect I killed him. That would mean I did a couple of things.” Lumen waved a dismissive hand as if the topic was no more important than a grocery list. “Well, let’s see. First, I would’ve needed to lure him to a private place. Since Desi fancied himself a lady’s man, an invite from a babe like me would’ve been irresistible.”

  One side of her mouth twisted up into a cruel smile. “Once I got him alone, what would I have done next? I dunno. Maybe slip him a ruffy and lead him on long enough that he passed out? Mind you, I’m an ambitious woman, but even I have standards. Nothing too physical would’ve gone on. A little smooching perhaps. Just enough to keep him preoccupied while the drug did its thing.” Lumen shrugged. “Once he was knocked out, Desi was at my mercy—pardon—the killer’s mercy. All she or he had to do next was to grab some rags from the storage room and a few bottles of water from the party. By the way, did I mention how much I love documentaries? Saw a horrible one a while back about waterboarding. Devastating what happens in foreign prisons.” She winked.

  Cas said, “There was the smell of mildew in the storage room. I couldn’t find the source. Would the killer know anything about that?”

  “Mmm. Maybe the wet rags were stashed somewhere and mildewed before she could get rid of them.”

  “And the water bottles?”

  Lumen snickered. “Ever notice how easy it is to smush those plastic bottles super flat? It’d be easy enough to sneak ‘em out in big enough a purse. Though the killer should’ve been thorough enough to make sure all the bottles were completely empty before shoving them in there.

  I know we just met, Cascade, but here’s something to know about me. I’m a big picture kind of gal. Details are for cogs. But I learned that some details,” she wagged a finger, “are indeed important. Like how many bottles of water it would take to do the deed. More than I expected. The documentary made it seem like a small amount would work, so I was stuck when I didn’t have enough water to kill Desi. Good thing the catering service thought to bring in those big gallon sized jugs. Swiping a few and sneaking back to the room was a pain but it did the trick. Dumping them on the way back to the party was simple.”

  An image of Lumen’s dripping wet green leather purse sprang to Cas’ mind. At the time, she and everyone else had assumed drinks had spilled onto it during the fight. But, in reality, the water bottles inside must have leaked. “You wanted to set up a water witch,” she accused.

  Grinning, Lumen inclined her head. “Sheriff Lloyd never really was the sharpest tool in the shed. Just like my brother.” She flipped her dark hair. “Like all shifters, really. Yeah, I figured I’d send him after Posie. Or maybe Auburn. It didn’t matter that much to me who he suspected.”

  A flash of anger coursed through Cas. She clenched her fists and didn’t care if Lumen saw it.

  Though Lumen leaned against the sink as if it was a casual chat, the air was full of a tension so thick, Cas could almost taste it. She sensed a clock ticking down. And when it got to zero, her time would be up.

  Cas pulled at her collar. Had it gotten warm? Her eyes flicked back to Lumen’s. It was like being watched by a viper. She needed to keep her cool and stay calm. “Why did you kill Desi?”

  “I want to be a siren. I deserve to be a siren. But
I knew I’d never beat Freesia without the shifters’ votes. My stupid, good-for-nothing, half-brother wouldn’t promote me to his people. He said I don’t have the moral fabric to be on the High Council.” She looked like she might spit, much like a cobra, so disgusted was she with Ray. “Sheriff Lloyd backed Dewman, so I figured if I got rid of the realtor, I could convince Lloyd to support me instead and be one step closer to having the votes I needed. I just had to figure out how to shut my brother up, so his people would support me too.”

  “You’re the one who told Sheriff Noble about Ray and Posie.”

  She smiled and it showed off her pointed incisors. “That was a fortunate accident. Walked in on them kissing in the store room of the campground lodge when I went in to get some tape. Once I knew, it was clear to me that I could use Lloyd’s obvious prejudice against shifter-witch relationships to get Ray out of my way. A well-timed note from an anonymous source was all it took to handle that. Then, Ray’s supporters came to me, naturally and willingly. I just had to strike a tiny little deal to get Lloyd to tell his folks to vote for me.”

  Cas remembered seeing Lumen and Lloyd shaking hands backstage. “Smart.” Sweat popped out on her forehead.

  “Only one thing went wrong for me during all of the prep work.”

  “Really? What was that?” Cas pulled her collar out again.

  Lumen cocked her head and pursed ruby red lips. “You.”

  “Me? What about me?”

  “Well, of course, I never expected you to get a nomination. Or Ray to support you. But once he did, I knew I might be in trouble. For some reason, people seem to love you.” She sneered again.

  “I’m a lovely person. The opposite of you.” Cas winced. Oops.