“Contessa Venture, you can’t walk out. We have things to do,” my dad growled.
“I have things to do that don’t include you.” I tightened my hand on the doorknob. “It’s not safe for me to be here, and you know it. It took one thought to send Investigator Know-It-All out the door. I’m trying hard to block my thoughts on what I want to do to you.”
I glanced at the others. “You know where to find me. I just can’t be here right now.”
“I’ll walk you back,” Ryder said.
I didn’t wait around to see if he followed me, and I ignored the staff watching me leave as I fought the tears forming in my eyes. We were halfway to my house before I spoke.
“Do you know how to get this…whatever it is out of me?” I asked, glancing at him.
“Uh, it’s magic, and half if it is probably yours from what your dad said, but most people would want to keep it. Why are you so determined to give it up?”
I stopped walking and stared up at him. “You of all people should know why. I kicked you out of my office, literally. I can’t control this…thing, and not only that, it’s creepy.”
I shivered and continued to walk.
“You know when the Halliwells realize that you’ve gotten their mother’s abilities that might make you the next target.”
“Just peachy.” I clenched my teeth together and stopped again, resting my hands on my hips. “And explain to me this. If you say a witch killed her, then why didn’t the killer absorb this crud?”
That was what this was, like the crud, uncontrollable coughing and a nose running like a faucet you were unable to turn off. Only my sneezing could do some serious harm.
“The crud must not have deemed the killer worthy.”
“So you’re saying I was an acceptable host and it infected me like I had a bad immune system but good intentions. It attacked me while I slept, for Pete’s sake.”
He studied my face as if searching for clues. “Do you really want to turn it off?”
“I can’t believe you just asked me that. Of course, I do.”
“I may be able to help with that,” he said as we rounded the bend.
“How is that?” I asked, catching up to him. “What is it exactly that you investigate?”
“Magical trails.”
“Is that like pathways in forbidden woods?” Okay, maybe I was right. This man had escaped the loony bin.
He sighed. “Every witch leaves a signature scent or trail if you will when they use their power for bad. My job is to follow the trail and hunt killers.”
I grabbed his arm, stopping him again. At the rate we were moving, I’d never make it to my cabana. “Wait, let me get this straight. You being on the island isn’t a coincidence? You’re here because you followed some magical trail.”
“Yes.”
I smacked his arm. “You knew a killer got off that boat and you didn’t tell anyone. You could have saved that innocent woman’s life.”
“First”—he held up one finger—“assaulting an officer of the Witch Council is against the law. And second”—he added another finger—“I announced my presence to the chief. He knew why I was here.”
Ryder pointed up at the cabanas. “Which one is yours?”
He took a step before I could stop him.
“Perfect.”
“What?” he asked.
I picked up a stick and whizzed it through the air, producing the checkerboard.
“This part of the beach is protected,” I said just as Birdie stepped onto her porch. “The old woman set up an alarm system, and if you don’t want her to know why you’re here, then follow my lead.” I wrapped my arm around his.
He leaned down and whispered, “Why wouldn’t I want her to know?”
“You know how the PTA has phone trees? Well, Birdie created the process.”
I waved at Birdie. “Sorry, Birdie. It’s just me. I didn’t mean to wake you.”
“I’ve been up all night, dear,” she said. “Who’s your new friend?”
“This is Ryder. He’s visiting from the mainland.”
“Why have you been up all night?” Ryder asked.
“That’s rude, honey,” I said, leaning into his arm.
His brows dipped as he stared down at me.
“That thunder and lightning sounded like it was hitting on the other side of the bend, so I was scared to sleep in fear that it might strike my house,” she answered.
“I must have slept through it. What time was that?” I asked, squeezing Ryder’s arm.
“Around midnight,” she answered.
“Are you sure?” Ryder asked, earning a pinch of his arm hair this time.
“Of course,” she said. “I looked at the alarm clock.” Birdie glanced to the bend. “Did it do any damage?”
“Nope, not a thing,” I answered, pulling Ryder along with me.
He glanced back over his shoulder. “Did your alarm system go off before it happened?”
“Oh no.” She shook her head. “My alarm never went off.”
“Thanks, Birdie. You can go back to sleep. I promise not to trigger the alarm again.”
“Okay, dear.” She waved her hand. “Have fun, but not too much fun that you wind up pregnant. The sound of babies crying gives me migraines.”
“Lightning and thunder?” I asked stepping up onto my porch.
“That’s the sound of battling magic,” he answered.
My face pinched as I unlocked my door and pushed Ryder through. I sighed, leaning against the door. “You said you can help me?”
He glanced around the room before turning to meet my gaze. “Yes.”
“Perfect.” I breathed my first sigh of relief. “Let me make some coffee, and you can tell me what I need to do. But, let me warn you...I won’t sacrifice any animals. I won’t transfer this curse to anyone, and I draw the line at using my blood.”
A smile lit his face. “Why the blood?”
“It makes me squeamish and sick to my stomach.” I shivered.
“There’s no blood involved,” he reassured me, stepping into the kitchen while I started the coffee pot and grabbed two mugs.
“How are we going to know it’s gone?” I asked.
He turned me and rested his finger at the collar of my shirt and slid it to the side. “Because this will be gone.”
My eyes crossed as I dropped my chin to get a better look. A raised crest stood out on my skin. “What the hell is that?”
I ran from the kitchen into the bathroom to get a better look in the mirror, poking at the infected skin.
“It’s a combination of the Halliwells’ signature crest mixed with your mother’s. Each magical family has one, and now yours is tied.”
I met his gaze in the mirror. “My family doesn’t have a crest.”
“Actually they do,” he said, pulling out his phone and scrolling.
“You won’t get cell service,” I tried to tell him.
“I don’t need cell service. This document is stored on my phone’s internal hard drive. It holds all of the crests. It helps me identify who is who.”
He scrolled some more before turning it to face me. “Your mother, Margo Spade’s line goes back further than the Halliwells and was much stronger too.”
He turned it to show me, and I compared it to the one on my neck. “They aren’t even similar.”
“That’s because your father’s ancestry is much more impressive. He comes from a long line of warlocks. His family goes back even further.”
He started scrolling again as if looking for my dad’s crest.
“Wait,” I said. “Are you telling me that my father can do magic? I thought it was just my mother and that’s why they catered to these weird people.”
Ryder lifted his gaze to mine. “He never told you?”
“I don’t believe you,” I said, crossing my arms over my chest.
“Right, because he’s been so honest with you all your life.” He turned the phone around again. I still
couldn’t see the resemblance to the raised design on my skin. “I still don’t see the resemblance.”
“It’s probably hidden beneath all of the Halliwell intricacies, but both your dad and mother can perform magic.”
“That son of a bitch can—”
I didn’t get the last word out before Ryder pressed his lips against mine, catching me off guard. When he broke the kiss, I stared up at him.
“You did that on purpose.”
“I had to stop you, or I’d be arresting you. I can’t have you condemning your father to rot in hell. He just might end up there.”
I slowly shook my head. “ Right. Let me make the coffee, and you can tell me how to turn this off before I really cause some trouble.”
Chapter 7
I sipped my coffee while learning more about Ryder’s job and bag of goodies. That bag he’d carried on his shoulder contained more than just toiletries. It appeared that he was ready and willing to apprehend the killer witch he’d been following from the mainland. With all of his cool little gadgets, none intrigued me more than the one he was willing to share and carried on him at all times.
A simple coin with the design of an eye. He tossed it to me, and I twisted it between my fingers, peering at the design and ancient words I couldn’t pronounce.
“That’s a talisman. It’s used as a binder against abilities and a barrier against magical attacks. You need it more than me. I can protect myself from any threats these witches pose. It’s just one of many ways to stop a witch and weaken her. For the ones I capture, I have handcuffs inscribed and enchanted just like the outside of that coin.”
Could it really be as easy as carrying a coin in my pocket the size of a quarter? And could it really lead to helping me get off the island? If I couldn’t hurt anyone, the possibilities of where I could go was endless.
“Can I keep it?” I asked.
“Oh yeah.” He nodded. “I’d prefer you did at least until I left.”
I grinned. After the morning I’d had, the coffee wasn’t enough, but the news was getting better. I grabbed the leftover chocolate cake and two forks from the drawer and handed him one.
“You just made my decade. You get some of my chocolate cake.”
“Glad I could help,” he answered, taking the fork.
I tapped mine against his in straight cheers fashion as if we were holding champagne flutes and took a bite of cake.
The chocolate was heavenly against my tongue, and I moaned.
Ryder, on the other hand, had a different response. His face turned sour, and he ran to the trash and spit his out before grabbing a paper towel to wipe his mouth.
“Your taste buds must be fried from that magic you chase. My brother’s cake is the best anywhere.”
“Yeah?” he asked, sipping his coffee. “There’s a reason for that. He uses magic.”
I glanced down at the chocolate heaven and shook my head. “You’re wrong.”
Ryder lifted his brow. “He’s your brother, Tess. You’re magical because of both parents, and one of those parents is his. He has the same juju as you even if at a lesser potency. I can taste it in the cake. Its part of that magic I sense. It isn’t subjective to what I can see with my own eyes or smell in the air. It affects all of my senses.”
He tossed the fork into the sink, and I pushed the cake to the middle of the counter. “How can you know for sure?”
“Trust me. I’d know that taste anywhere.”
I walked into the living room and plopped down on the couch, and grabbing my pillow, I hugged it to my chest. “He knew.”
“Looks that way.”
I shook my head, and a frown marred my lips. My trust in everyone was fading and fast. Everything I thought I knew was a sham. These dirty little secrets made up my entire life.
“Don’t go too hard on your brother,” Ryder said, sitting next to me. “The magic he used was harmless so you’d find comfort in that cake.”
That still wouldn’t excuse the secrets he kept. I sighed and met his gaze. “No one thought I could handle the truth. Not even him. If he could keep that secret, what else isn’t he telling me?”
“Why not ask him?”
That would have been easy enough. A simple, yet hard conversation might prevent any further feelings of treachery. I loved my brother, really I did, and his lie, even though bad, wasn’t meant to stifle or hurt me. I could still taste the bitterness of betrayal. “I need to get off this island and start fresh.”
“Not until this case is solved, you can’t. You have no alibi, and even though I believe you innocent, we still need to find the killer before he strikes again.”
He pointed to the last murder mystery box I had open on the table. “You any good at solving crimes?”
“I hold the highest score on the leaderboard.”
“Impressive.” He grinned. “You must be Tesslvania.”
My mouth parted. “You’re familiar with the game.”
He winked. “I should be. I’m RottingCorpse23.”
I tossed my head back and chuckled. “You’re number 2.”
“Not for long.” He wiggled his brows. “How about we work together to solve this case. It will go a long way with showing your cooperation. You know everyone on the island better than anyone else, and I know magic. We could work together and solve it quicker.”
“Time isn’t on our side. We only have six days before the ferry returns to take them all back.”
“Well, how about we get busy,” he said, rising and holding out his hand. “We can begin with the coroner and see what Chief Stein found so we can get started.”
I took his hand and let him pull me up with enough force that I landed against his chest. I stared up into his eyes as I laid my hand on his shirt, silently wondering if touching his bare chest would feel just as warm as when he’d kissed me.
Within an instant, his shirt vanished and my hand was on his toned chest. I think it surprised me more than it did him.
“You didn’t put the coin in your pocket, did you?” he asked, covering my hand with his and holding it against his chest.
I shook my head and fanned the rising heat in my cheeks, making his grin grow. “I don’t mind walking down the beach shirtless, but maybe you should grab that coin before the rest of my clothes go missing.”
I slipped my hand free and hurried to the counter, grabbing the coin. “You shouldn’t have said that. I had to fight back those thoughts.” I held out my hand, stilling him from coming closer. I took a deep breath and set the coin down, imagining him back in the same shirt he’d been wearing.
Instantly it reappeared, and I grabbed the coin again. This coin and I were going to be fast friends. I wouldn’t ever be leaving home without it.
Ryder
Chapter 8
She was going to be trouble. He’d known it the minute he’d laid eyes on her at the ferry. She was sharp, beautiful, and a temptation that he couldn’t afford to give in to. His track record with women was what had gotten him into trouble with the Council and given him this task of hunting this killer to begin with.
He’d thought a week in paradise and a quick capture and he’d join the good graces of those trackers again. There was nothing easy about this case. He’d followed this killer for three months. Three months of some of the weirdest deaths he’d ever encountered. There was no connection between the people killed, no motive that even worked, but one thing was certain. It was the same magical scent that he’d smelled on the air. Remnants of it could still be felt in the goosebumps on his skin from the ferryboat. Everyone was a suspect on that boat. He’d scratched the crew off the list when the scent lessened as everyone departed to the shore.
It was most definitely one of these guests, and Tess Venture might just be an asset when he figured out who was responsible. She had the abilities, although Vinette hadn’t compared to whatever force she’d been up against. Between Tess and her family line and Ryder’s bag of tricks, they could outwit even the smartest criminal
. Tess was more than capable. She’d proved it a long time ago when she’d passed his high score in the murder game. The vixen.
Tess pulled up outside the police station in her little golf cart. She drove like a woman going to a shoe sale where only one pair in her size remained. The chief was in the interrogation room when they entered. The rest of the Halliwell clan sat in the waiting area. He eased Tess to a stop, pulled the sunglasses off his eyes, and slid them onto hers. Her being near the murder was a secret that they needed to keep quiet.
“Hey, Tess.” An elderly woman greeted them with a warm smile. The front desk cop had been there yesterday when Ryder had arrived.
“Hi, Velma,” Tess greeted back. “Is the Chief around?”
“He’s got Pippy Halliwell in interrogation,” she said, glancing back at the closed door. “She sure is a handful and nothing like her brother and other sister, who seem much more scared to be here.”
Ryder glanced at the other man and woman. The woman sat with her dark hair hiding her face while she fidgeted in her seat. The man was leaning forward, resting his elbows on his knees with his head down. Anxious and yet something else Ryder couldn’t feel.
“That’s Penny and Peter,” Tess said, leaning in to whisper in his ear.
“I know who they are,” Ryder answered, turning back to Velma. “Any chance we can observe?”
“Of course,” Velma answered with a smile. “The Chief gave explicit instructions that you were to have access to anything you needed. Just follow me.”
He led Tess with a hand pressed against her back into the room with two-way mirrors. Velma flicked the speaker so they could hear before quietly closing the door behind her.
“Explain to me again where you’ve been since you stepped off the bus.”
Pippy narrowed her eyes and crossed her legs. “Not until you tell me why you brought us here.”
The Chief sighed. “Did your mother have many enemies?”
Pippy uncrossed her legs and leaned across the table. “Is she in some kind of trouble? Is that why we’re here?”
“No, she’s not in trouble.” The Chief cleared his throat. “She’s dead. We found her body on the beach this morning.”
Witch Unleashed Page 3
