Spell Hell: An Undercover Witch (Witch's Brew Book 1)

by N. L. Hoffmann

  “You were in an accident,” Drake replied, the unease clear on his face. From his expression, I assumed there was more to the story than what he was telling me.

  “I remember we rolled down a hill.”

  “Someone used magic to cause that. They were trying to kill us, and I’m assuming it’s whoever wants that necklace.” Drake looked down at it and Roark came up behind him to do the same thing. It was like they were in a trance. “It’s so beautiful. Can you imagine the power, brother?”

  “I’d like that much power.” Roark nodded.

  Snapping my fingers, I glared. “Don’t even think about it. It’s mine.”

  Both men jerked their heads up in alarm. Drake rubbed at his eyes and then stood up to head over to a bar on the far right side of the room. “Do you need a drink?” he asked me.

  Nodding, I managed to sit up, my head spinning. I didn’t feel the same. Something was seriously wrong. Everything was so loud, and the smells in the room were stronger than normal. I felt like my skin was oversensitive...

  I gasped, realization dawning. “You turned me!”

  Drake dropped the glass he was holding, and it shattered all over the bar and floor. He hurried in my direction, holding his hands out as if to keep me calm. “It was to save you.”

  “Save me? I am a Witch! I don’t want to be a Vampire. You should have let me die, Drake,” I snarled, furious he would have done something so life changing without asking me. Not that he could, considering I was dying, but still! It was rare for a Witch to be a half-Vampire, mostly because we could die from the combination. For some reason, Witch and Vampire blood didn’t mix well. They attacked each other within the body, and the victim ended up dead. Even if it managed to work at the onset, they eventually died anyway, experiencing a shorter life span of maybe five years after the initial mixing.

  “I didn’t want to lose you.” Drake didn’t know what to say after that. He just sat in a nearby chair, staring down at his hands.

  A twinge of guilt hit me, but I pushed it away. “Now I have to look forward to my death in five years? No Witch-Vampire crossbreed has ever lived past that.”

  “But you’re an Avalon Witch. There has been one case where the woman lived for centuries, and that one was a Witch from Avalon.” Roark said, placing a hand on his brother’s shoulder for support.

  I laughed, not at all amused. “I haven’t heard of such a thing.”

  “He saved your life. You’re acting like a bitch,” Roark snarled.

  Drake glared at him. “Don’t call her that. She has every right to be angry. Witches hate Vampires.”

  “I don’t hate Vampires. I just—this is a lot to take in.” I rubbed my eyes, not caring that I was smearing my makeup. “I have to solve this case before it gets worse. Someone wants me dead. I don’t know if it’s Daphne or the killer.”

  “I’ll help you with it.” Drake climbed to his feet. “But for now, you need blood.”

  Groaning, I fell back onto the couch. How was I going to drink blood? That was disgusting! Sure, it was sexy as hell when Drake did it to me, but me? I shuddered, making a face. He just chuckled, leaving the room.

  Roark stared at me for a few seconds before he asked, “Who is on your suspect list?”

  If he knew I suspected Stella, things would get real tense, and he might even warn her. So, I just kept to what was safe. “No one right now. I have to question some of the Witches here in Riverdale that are on our watch list.”

  Understanding, he nodded and glanced over his shoulder just as Drake entered the room. Drake handed me a large cup of blood and smiled. “Here you go, my love.”

  I took it, feeling that it was warm. My stomach lurched at the thought of swallowing it, but suddenly I was really hungry. The smell wafted up to my nose. My mouth began to throb in pain, and I felt around my teeth, finding my incisors had lengthened. Fangs! I had fangs. I didn’t know why I was surprised, but it was just so hard believe that something like becoming a Vampire could happen to me.

  “What the hell is going on in here?” A woman’s voice cracked through the living room, startling all of us. We’d been so focused on the problem at hand that we didn’t even notice someone came inside the house. Some Vampires we were.

  “About to have a threesome. I would invite you, but I like being the only girl,” I told Stella plainly.

  Her mouth fell open in surprise. “I will kill you!”

  “Didn’t you already try that? I know you’re the one murdering those women.” I blurted out. Damn, again with the no filter.

  Roark laughed, rolling his eyes. “That’s absurd.”

  Drake seemed surprised, but didn’t say anything. Just then, Stella decided to charge in my direction. How do people run in high heels? Seriously, I would be flat on my face.

  Moving with incredible speed, I shot to the other side of the room. Stella stumbled to a stop, her mouth open and eyes wide. Shit, I just revealed I was a Vampire. I would have to learn how to control those new powers, too. My inner Sophie wanted to scream in frustration. I didn’t have time to learn new things.

  “Vampire! You’re a Vampire!” She put a hand to her throat, stumbling back. “He turned you. How is that even possible?”

  “Crap, now we have to tie her up,” I said.

  “No you won’t!” Stella started running to the exit. I was only joking, but thinking about it, I realized she could run straight to the Councils.

  Without too much of a thought, I motioned with my hands to the door of the living room. A puff of smoke came from my fingers and the door slammed shut before she could escape. Everyone froze, staring at me in astonishment.

  “How did you do that? Only the most experienced can do magic without saying an incantation.” Stella gasped, plastering herself against the door of the room.

  Roark stood in front of his wife. “I won’t allow you to torture her. Release her now, Sophie.”

  “I can’t do that. She’s a murder suspect,” I replied.

  “Actually, Drake is the murder suspect. Mrs. Jacobi, you may leave,” Finn, the Vampire Councilman, said as he opened the doors. This time he was wearing a normal suit, looking far more appropriate to the job than the last time I saw him.

  “As part of the Witches’ Council, it is my right to detain Mrs. Jacobi for questioning,” I said, standing up straight. My teeth were throbbing again. I could hear Stella’s heart beating frantically, the blood flowing through her veins in a way that called to me. It was distracting. I almost missed what Finn said to me.

  “I believe you no longer work for the Council, Ms. Dexter. You might want to call your High Priestess.” Finn seemed all too pleased to deliver that bit of information.

  I looked for my cell phone and discovered it in my back pocket. When I glanced down, I found a crack across the screen, but it was still working. There were several missed phone calls from the Council, Jenna, and Mikey. I had nearly twenty missed text messages as well. When I started to scroll through them, I noticed that they were all from Jenna and Mikey telling me to call them. When I got to the end of Mikey’s text chain, he said I’d been relieved of my duties with the Council, and I was to clean out my office immediately. Another one informed me that the High Priestess demanded I cease my investigation in Riverdale and return home.

  Laughing to myself, I shoved the phone back into my pocket. Like I would stop investigating. Drake was being accused of murder. I had to find out who the real killer was. And even though I was half-Vampire, I still had a personal duty to put a stop to the killings of Witches. These women didn’t deserve it, especially if Stella really was on a jealous rampage every hundred years.

  “Drake, you’ll have to come with me for questioning,” Finn said, taking some cuffs out.

  “Is that really necessary?” Drake growled, stepping back.

  Revealing his fangs, Finn shook his head in warning. “Don’t make this any harder than it has to be.”

  “We’re best friends! You know I’m not going to run.
” Drake appeared insulted, his face becoming red with anger.

  Finn sighed, shoving the handcuffs in his pocket. “I still have to follow procedure, but considering you’re innocent until proven guilty, I’ll let it go.”

  “You can’t take him!” Stella charged at Finn. “He is innocent.”

  Roark grabbed her around the waist. “Stella, dear, you’re making a scene.”

  She sure the hell was. Married to Roark, but flipping out over Drake being brought in for questioning? Could she make it any more obvious? I had to be right about her being behind the murders. She seemed unbalanced enough, though I had a hard time picturing her practicing black magic.

  Clawing Finn’s face, Stella managed to get out of Roark’s grasp. She ran to Drake, hugging him. “We’ll get the best lawyers.”

  Drake pulled away, giving her a bewildered look. “Thank you.”

  “Arrest her for assaulting a Council member!” Finn held a handkerchief to his face as he gestured to the other Vampires that had shown up to aid him.

  “I’ll have your badge, Finn! This will be brought to the Council Leader’s attention,” she shouted as they dragged her away.

  Well, that sure prevented me from following her tonight. I was relieved she was gone, though. My fangs slid back up in my mouth. Finn noticed the movement and his eyes widened. In fear? It looked like fear. When I opened my mouth to ask his problem, Roark grabbed my arm, shaking his head. Finn was already taking Drake away. I wanted to kiss him before he left, but I figured Finn would just get angrier about the whole thing.

  Roark turned away from the door when they left. He forced a smile. “Now, about drinking that blood...”

  Chapter Sixteen

  As Roark and I traveled to the Vampire Council home, something dawned on me: I already had evidence that Drake was innocent! Mikey could sense the magic presence on the bodies, which meant that Drake couldn’t have killed the women. All I needed was my best friend to come to the Council house.

  Pulling out my cell phone, I called Mikey. The magic detected could also just mean that Drake was working with someone else. Like Stella, for example. Worried that might be the Vampire Council’s response, I listened as the phone rang.

  “Sophie! What the hell took you so long to call me back?” Mikey demanded after the first ring.

  “I was in a car accident. Actually, someone pushed us off the road.”

  “Are you serious? What the fuck? Did you find out who did it?”

  Shaking my head, I realized he couldn’t see me. “No, not yet. I haven’t been able to question any Witches, and my only suspect just went to jail for attacking a Vampire Councilman.”

  “Damn.”

  “Yeah, so the reason I need you is because I want you to tell the Vampire Council that there was magic found on the bodies. They’d been strangled after the Vampire bite, so obviously that was their cause of death.”

  “They were drained of blood, remember?”

  “How can it be both?”

  “Maybe they were strangled first, revived, and then bitten. It’s in the report. Did you skip over it?”

  “It wasn’t in the report. The bites were told to me after the fact, by the medical examiner.”

  “Oh, right.”

  Roark was driving me to the Vampire Council house. He wasn’t about to let a newbie Vampire loose on the streets. After he force-fed me the blood, I felt a ton better, but I could still hear heartbeats, even through the windows of the car. It was making me crazy. I felt animalistic, like I wanted to track the prey down and sink my teeth into it.

  “Are you going to come? You’re the official magic-sensor person.”

  Mikey sighed. “It’s called Radar.”

  “It’s a weird name.”

  “That’s the name, though.”

  “I like Magic Sensorer.”

  “That doesn’t work. ‘Sensorer’ isn’t a word.”

  “Neither is Magicteer.”

  “Point made. I’ll be there waiting outside for you. I’m assuming you’re on your way?”

  “Thanks, I’ll be there in five minutes.”

  After hanging up, Roark raised an eyebrow. “A Radar is coming?”

  Nodding, I looked out the window. Clouds had come in, and it looked as if it might rain. It smelled that way, hanging thick in the air. I usually enjoyed the scent of rain, but not at that moment. My extra-sensitive nose was smelling everything around me. I hated the feeling, and wanted it to go away.

  “Your senses will become easier to work with in a few days. As a new Vampire, everything is out of whack. It needs to calibrate itself.”

  “Calibrate itself?”

  “Yes, your body needs to adjust to the changes.”

  Deciding that made sense, I began to hum to myself. My life was changing drastically, and fast. What would I do once the investigation was over? Would Drake be going to prison? What did the Vampire Council do to convicted murderers? I was worried. My palms were sweating. I wasn’t sure if it was a symptom of being a new Vampire, or if I was nervous about Drake’s fate.

  *

  Mikey was waiting for me outside the large, stone home of the Vampire Council’s Leader. They were like the Witches in that way, giving the most impressive home to the one in charge. It was surrounded by a black, iron gate. The landscaping was impressive compared to the barely-there lawn of the Witches’ Council.

  The moon was out, lighting up the entire yard. Roark came to a stop in front of the gate’s entrance. A guard appeared, dressed completely in black. “State your business,” the guard instructed.

  “My brother was brought in for questioning,” Roark replied.

  The guard disappeared, returning with a clipboard. “His name?”

  “Drake Jacobi. I’m Roark Jacobi.”

  Nodding, the guard went back into his little building and the gate began to open. Roark sighed, gripping the steering wheel hard. “I hate this place. It always makes me nervous.”

  Shifting uncomfortably, I nodded in agreement. It was kind of intimidating. The Witches’ Council’s building made me think of an old college. The main building was brick, with several more behind it. The biggest one was the High Mistress’s home, and the rest were offices with some classrooms thrown in.

  This place screamed perfection and order. I didn’t know if they could tolerate my snarky personality. My brain screamed for me to run while I had a chance. That I could leave it all behind and start over somewhere new. It was a good idea, but I couldn’t leave Drake. Plus, Stella appeared to be borderline psychopath. What if she decided to carry out a Romeo and Juliet scenario? Fear clenched my heart at that thought. I would make sure Stella was put down before that happened.

  Roark stopped the car in front of the building. Obviously they didn’t get enough visitors to have an actual parking lot. I didn’t know if that was as bad as it seemed. The place suddenly became a lot scarier in that instant. Glancing over at Roark, I watched as he adjusted his clothing, hands shaking.

  “Is this place as bad as you make it seem?” I asked, my eyes wide.

  Nodding, Roark took my hand. “The Leader is someone you should be leery of. He is old and doesn’t tolerate joking. The one time I stood up to him, I was whipped for three days. He does his own torture. So fear him, Sophie. Do not test this man.”

  Shocked at what he told me, I fingered my necklace nervously. Oftentimes I didn’t have control over what came out of my mouth. I was used to telling it how it is. Roark was the same way, which meant there was no way in hell the Vampire Leader would tolerate me.

  Finally nodding, I slipped out of his car, straightening my own clothes. I was still a mess from our accident. Had I known whom I was dealing with, I would have insisted on going back to the hotel to get cleaned up first.

  Roark and I both looked up the steps to the big doors. There were two guards standing and waiting for us to make it up. Taking the first step, I listened for him to follow me. When he did, I went up a little faster. Might as well get
it over with. The sooner I got Drake back, the better I would feel.

  Just as I was about to hit the last step, Mikey appeared next to me. The guards immediately went on the defensive, drawing swords.

  “I have permission to be here!” Mikey insisted, holding his hands up.

  “State your business!” one of the guards said to him.

  “I’m a Radar.”

  The guards put their weapons away. “Next time, use the gate, Radar.”

  Mikey rolled his eyes, heading to the door. One guard opened it, staring him down with a hateful expression. I could only imagine their feelings about Witches. With all the animosity between our kinds, they were probably tempted to kill us on the spot.

  Once we made it inside, Finn was waiting, his hands behind his back. “Welcome to the Council home. Drake is currently waiting to be questioned. In the meantime, the Leader would like to see you.”

  “Are you sure? I mean, I can wait out here,” Roark said, shifting uncomfortably.

  Finn smirked, obviously knowing why Roark was afraid to face the Leader. He just shrugged his shoulders, motioning for me to follow him. “The Witch and Radar must come.”

  Finn walked fast. He must have been a speed-walker on the side. Holy shit! It was either that, or he turned on the Vampire speed a little. Mikey and I basically had to jog to keep up. Finn kept up the whole hip-wiggling thing as he moved. I wasn’t sure if that was normal or not. I raised my eyebrows at Mikey, and he just grinned in response. Then he placed a finger over his lips to tell me that I needed to stay silent. It was going to be too hard. I had to ask, but Mikey placed a hand on my shoulder, warning me.

  Everything was white and gold inside the building. The furniture was all white with gold trimming. The walls and floor were white with gold-embossed designs. Chandeliers hung from the ceilings, the crystals casting light everywhere. But if I had a scorecard, I would rate the place a one. I was not a fan of their décor.

  We came to a stop in front of large, white doors. Finn hesitated with his hands on the handles. He then looked over his shoulder, specifically at me. “You might want to watch your tongue when you enter.”