by Paula Lester
Maybe Juliet was wrong too. Could the similarity in smells between us mean we had similar types of magic or something rather than that we were related? I shook my head, having no idea whether I could be on the right track with that are not. That was a question for Aunt Dru or Juliet herself because I didn’t know whether magic even had odors.
When I got to the clinic, I went through the back door and checked in on animals in the kennel. There were only a couple of dogs, and they were both sleeping peacefully. Next, I checked the cat cages, where one grumpy looking Persian was waking up from surgery, and a calico was on an IV drip. A quick check of that one’s file showed she was having a kidney problem, and it looked like Jeremy had the proper treatment plan underway. The cat quickly confirmed verbally that she was feeling better.
“Oh, hi, boss.” The man I had just been thinking about stood in the treatment area when I exited the kennels, getting some vaccinations ready. He gave me a thousand-watt smile, and I did my best to return it cheerfully.
“Hey, there. How are things going around here? Sorry I’ve been absent a lot lately.”
He shrugged. “It’s no problem. We haven’t been busy enough that I couldn’t handle it on my own, and I know you have your hands full dealing with that horrible situation with the tourist. Have you gotten anywhere with figuring out what happened to that poor woman?”
“Not really. Not yet. But Crosby and I have a few leads, so hopefully we’ll close in on something soon.”
Jeremy chuckled. “It’s cool how you get to help the police department solve things like this. It’s almost like you’re a forensic scientist or something.”
“Nope. Not a forensic scientist. Just a small-time, small-town veterinarian who unfortunately gets dragged into strange situations.” I tried to laugh it off, but what I’d said hit too close to home. At that moment, I wanted nothing more than to immerse myself in my job and not have to worry about murders, murder suspects, or traveling groups of vaguely hostile witches.
“Well, this is the last appointment for tonight, so if you need to keep working on that, I can handle things here.” Jeremy finished drawing up the vaccines into syringes and threw the bottles into the trash.
“Thanks. I really appreciate it. I’ll be in my office for a little while working on bills and that sort of thing if you need me. And Jeremy?”
He stopped and turned back toward me. “Yeah?”
“I’m always just a text away if you need me for something around here. Really, I don’t want you to feel overwhelmed or anything like that.” I needed Jeremy to be happy working for me. Before he’d come on board, I’d been overworked and underpaid. Now that I had an associate to pay, things were even tighter in the money department, for sure, but he did an outstanding job bringing in new clients and the way he eased the workload on me made it completely worth it. I hated the idea of going back to being the only veterinarian in Superior Bay.
He winked. “Don’t worry. I’m not going anywhere. You do your thing, and I’ll call you if I need you.” He turned and headed into the exam room with his vaccines.
I headed to my office and closed the door. I spent an hour engrossed in the clinic’s financials, paying some bills and checking on accounts receivable. I made a couple of phone calls to reps to order some more supplies. I was just about to shut down the computer and head out again when a tiny knock came on the door. “”Come on in.”
Theresa stuck her head in the doorway. “Hi, Dr. Morgan. There’s a group of people up front who are demanding to see you in private. They’re out-of-towners. Should I just send them away?”
I had a good idea of who this group of people was, and I shook my head. “No, you can bring them into my office. Thanks, Theresa.”
She nodded and disappeared. A couple of minutes later, she returned with Lila, Albert, Victoria, Deirdre, a few other witches whose names I didn’t know, and a strikingly handsome, black-haired, black-eyed man I’d never seen before. He was dressed neck to toes in black leather and wore a heavy leather belt with a silver buckle in the form of a hexagram.
Theresa’s eyes shifted around nervously. “Okay, well, here they are, Dr. Morgan,” she said with a hint of fear in her voice. “Shall I leave your door open?”
“We require privacy,” Lila said sharply.
I smiled encouragingly at Theresa. “I’m okay. You can shut the door behind you and lock up and head out when everything’s done.”
Theresa looked like she thought that was the worst idea in the history of ideas, but she complied, shutting my office door tightly on her way out.
I stood, not wanting to be the only one sitting as all the angry-looking witches towered over me. “What can I do for you? This is my place of business, and I have a lot of things to do. It’s really not a great time for a meeting.” Of course, that was a lie. I was done with the financials and it was the end of the workday. But I wanted these people to understand that they were on my turf.
“We’ve decided, Willow Morgan,” Lila said, lifting her chin and smirking at me. “We’ve taken a vote, and we have charged you with murder of the Crone. The Vampire Guard will now withdraw your power and place it into his amulet, where he will keep it until you are formally convicted of the crime or acquitted. If acquitted, your power will be returned to you, along with the rest of your magic. If convicted, the Guard will absorb your power into his own body, and it will be irretrievable to you.”
“What are you talking about? I didn’t kill Marian. And you don’t have any authority here. Crosby is investigating . . .”
“It is Crosby Patterson who has no authority over this issue,” Lila said starkly. “This is a witch matter. Unfortunately, the Trio is not complete, and so they cannot investigate this properly and give you a regular trial. So, in the meantime, our council is handling it instead. Now, step forward, if you please.”
I shook my head. “I won’t be cooperating with us. You can’t take my power—you have no authority. What council?”
Lila’s eyes slid to Albert, and he nodded once.
“We have formed a council of our own volition to take care of this problem,” Lila admitted. “Again, we are seizing authority on this issue because there is no one else to do so.”
“So, you’re telling me you’re vigilante witches? I didn’t know there was such a thing.” My voice was strong, but I felt a sliver of fear crawl up my spine. I was highly outnumbered and didn’t know enough magic to defend myself, anyway. What was I going to do?
“Actually, what I’m saying is that we are going to make sure you can’t do what your parents did,” Lila said. “Go ahead, Gordon.”
Gordon didn’t feel like the right name for the vampire in front of me. Seemed like he should be Sven or Viktor or something. But I didn’t have time for such silly thoughts. My mind whirled as I tried to think of a way to get out of the situation. Before I could, the dark man in leather stepped forward and grabbed my wrist.
I twisted, trying to get myself out of his grasp, but it was as though his hand were an iron bracelet. There was absolutely no way I could break free. I tried to stomp on his foot, but he danced out of the way easily, one side of his mouth quirking upward, as though my antics amused him. “This will only take a moment,” he rumbled. “Please be still.”
I had no intention of doing any such thing. I flailed, squirmed, and even tried to bite the Vampire Guard, but he stood like a stone statue, unaffected by any of it.
The only thing I didn’t do was cry out. I didn’t want any of my staff who may still be in the building rushing in to help me and possibly being hurt by these people. They had nothing to do with this, and I wouldn’t risk putting them in danger.
The Vampire Guard touched an amulet on a silver chain around his neck I hadn’t seen before. It glowed bright pink for a moment, and then he dropped my wrist.
I panted from the exertion of trying to get away and rubbed my wrist, though it wasn’t painful. Somehow, the guy had held me in a vice grip while I fought like a cat
but didn’t hurt me.
“It’s done,” he said, stepping back.
With an amused sneer, Lila said, “Good. Let’s go.” She waved a hand and left my office, the others trailing behind her. Only Dierdre looked at me with a sad smile, as though she felt bad about what had happened.
But I didn’t feel like anything had happened. There had been no sensation at all.
Maybe I was okay.
Shaking slightly, I grabbed my purse and left my office. The treatment room was dim. It looked like everyone was gone. I headed through the treatment area toward the back door through the kennel room.
The cat on the IV sat up and said something to me. I stopped, my brow furrowing. “What?”
She spoke again.
But all I heard was a series of mews and growls. No words. My throat suddenly felt like I’d swallowed a pile of ash. “I . . . I can’t understand you,” I whispered.
The cat’s eyes widened.
“What’s that, boss?”
I whirled around to face Jeremy, who had car keys in his hand and was heading for the back door too.
“Oh. Nothing. I was just talking to this cat. She looks brighter. Good job with her treatment.” I backed away, wanting to run out the door.
Jeremy smiled. “Thanks. I think she’ll go home tomorrow.”
“Great. That’s really great. Um, I have to run. I’ll see you later, okay?” I didn’t wait to hear Jeremy’s answer before I sprinted outside, letting the heavy door slam behind me.
Tears sprang to my eyes, and I gasped for air to fight them back.
I couldn’t understand animals anymore. The Vampire Guard had truly confiscated my magic.
Chapter 14
I FELT ALONE. COMPLETELY cut off from the world. As I wandered down the sidewalk, not feeling like getting in my car, I pulled my thin sweater tightly over my shoulders. I barely registered the coolness of the air, but the sweater felt as though it could fight off the cold clutching at my heart.
The thing that weighed most heavily on my mind was that the birds were tweeting. Tweeting, not singing. Normally, when I walked around outside, I could hear snatches of the birds’ songs. Of course, some of them sang wordlessly, but others used lyrics, and I could usually hear some of them. Now, it was all only tweeting, and it felt like I’d been deposited on an alien planet.
I could feel the black tendril of panic brushing against my mind. I wanted to freak out, rail, cry, and scream at the loss of my ability. I focused on breathing in and out as deeply as I could and holding back the tears. I didn’t need to lose it right there on the streets of Superior Bay. People would think I’d had some sort of psychotic break, and then who knew what would happen to my business? It would probably go under because everyone would head over to the veterinarians in Red River. I was already always fighting that losing battle.
Eventually, the deep breathing seemed to work some, and by the time I got into the heart of the downtown area, I’d beat back the panic enough that I didn’t feel like I was going to burst into tears at any second.
Then a cat ran up to me. It was a rust-colored furball with a huge, fluffy tail. The cat gave my shins a rub and then sat in front of me and yowled. He was looking directly into my eyes and clearly trying to tell me something.
I shook my head. “I’m sorry. I can’t understand anymore.”
The cat tipped his head and appeared curious for a second. Then he tried again, making a series of cat noises.
I shook my head again. “I’m sorry. I don’t understand.” The feeling that I was going to cry jumped back into my throat, and I had to take several deep breaths to suppress it.
The cat, his face making as shocked of an expression as a cat’s face can make, tried once more. When I shrugged to show I didn’t understand, he gave me a glare and stalked off.
I couldn’t shake the feeling the cat had had something specific to say to me. He didn’t appear to be injured, and he wasn’t moving quickly, as though he were trying to lead me back to a sick or hurt friend of his. No, I got the feeling he specifically had some information to impart to me.
Filled with frustration, I pulled out my cell phone and did a group text to Alyson, Julia, and Crosby. “My powers are gone. Albert and Lila’s group took them. Can’t understand animals.”
I squeezed the cell phone in my hand way too tightly, waiting for responses. It didn’t take long, and texts began shooting at me, making my notification dings go crazy. I reached over to click the button to silence the phone and read through the texts quickly. The ones from Alyson and Julia were sympathetic and supportive. But Crosby’s said: Get to my office.
I acknowledged his order with a thumbs-up emoji, slipped my phone into the purse around my neck, and headed toward the police department at a fast clip. Having somewhere to go made me feel better, and I soon found myself more angry than upset.
Who were those people to carry out their vigilante justice on me and take my power? What gave them the right? I had come to terms with the fact that the Trio was the ruling body of witches in my area and had accepted they had jurisdiction over me in certain areas of my life. But Lila and Albert—no, they had seized power where there was none. Stepped into the vacuum created because the Crone was dead and the ascension hadn’t occurred and ripped that power away to use themselves.
I couldn’t let them get away with it. I wouldn’t let them take my power for good.
But how was I going to get it back? That Vampire Guard was not someone you could just walk up to and physically overpower. Now, I had no magical power to fight him with—not that my measly magic would’ve done anything against him.
Maybe Aunt Dru would have some ideas. She didn’t have a cell phone, so I couldn’t text her. I thought about calling, but then I decided to wait a little while. I would see what Crosby had to say and go from there.
When I entered the police station, Crosby was waiting for me in the lobby. “Come on,” he said, grabbing my elbow and leading me through a doorway and down a short hallway to his office. Once we were inside with the door closed, he said, “Tell me exactly what happened.”
I recounted the information about how Albert, Lila, Victoria, and the others had come to my office, announced that they thought I was guilty of the Crone’s murder, and had the Vampire Guard siphon away my power and put it in his amulet. “I can’t understand animals at all now,” I said, feeling miserable. “They just sound like they’re grunting and snorting.”
Crosby’s face was still. He had said nothing as I had told him what happened, but he had scribbled down a few notes. Now, he said, “You know, I think this might have to do with the killer.”
“Marian’s killer? I mean, it does, in a way. They think I did it, so they took my powers away so I couldn’t do it again. I guess.”
But Crosby shook his head. “That’s not what I mean. I think maybe the killer had something to do with the decision to confiscate your power. Like, maybe they know that somehow, somewhere, there’s an animal who may clear your name. Perhaps they wanted to strip you of your ability, so you wouldn’t be able to understand that animal when it appeared.”
I thought about the rust-colored cat who had clearly been trying to tell me something on the sidewalk and nodded. “That makes sense. But what animal? And who would have known that? I don’t exactly make it a habit to tell everyone that understanding animals is one of my powers.”
Crosby stared at the notes in front of him, making a little doodle as he gave it some thought. Finally, he shrugged. “I’m not sure. But this seems like a good lead to me. I think we should keep our eyes and ears open for someone who may know what you can do. Someone who could have influenced Lila and Albert.”
“They may not have had to influence Lila and Albert,” I said. “It may have been Lila and Albert. Lila made some comment about not letting me do what my parents did.” I shook my head and clenched my fists in my lap. “I don’t know what she was talking about. I don’t really know anything about my parents. It seems l
ike the witches who came to town all know more about them than I do.”
“What about your aunt? She must know what they’re talking about. Can’t you ask her?”
I nodded sharply. “Oh, you better believe I’m going to ask her. But she’s been acting so strange ever since the Trio came to town. It’s like she’s specifically trying to keep something from me. She’s never acted like this before, and I don’t know what to do—how to break through it and get information out of her.”
Crosby’s eyes met mine. “I don’t know either, but she needs to understand that this is really serious, Will. The human investigation is rapidly coming to the same conclusion that witch’s council came to—that you’re the killer. You were the one who found her, and to your own admission, no one else was in the bathroom or the corridor then.” He held up a hand when I started to protest. “Celeste told us she doesn’t think you had time to kill Marian before you cried out. And, of course, I don’t think you did it. But I don’t have evidence on anyone else either. I don’t have very much longer before I’m going to have to arrest someone, and that someone is looking like it’s going to be you. If your aunt knows something that can help us get you out of this, she doesn’t have very much more time to reveal it.”
“Okay. I’ll go home and talk to her right now. Keep your cell phone on you—I’ll call or text if I get some information that I think you can use.”
Crosby nodded and got to his feet. He escorted me back out to the front door, gave me a quick hug, and sent me on my way.
I hadn’t gone very far before I saw Celeste and Griffin coming toward me on the sidewalk. I tried to muster a smile for Celeste, but it felt lopsided and must not have looked good, either, because she said, “Is something wrong?”
