A Witch’s Demons (Witch's Path Series: Book 6)

by N. E. Conneely

  Michelle tossed her brown hair over her shoulder and with a cheeky smile took off after it. I sprinted toward the ball, reaching it moments before her. I pushed it back to Ty and grinned at my beautiful betrothed.

  “Not fair, Elron,” she panted. “You’re an elf and you have longer legs.”

  I raised an eyebrow. “You could have used magic.”

  “I would never cheat.”

  “And I would?” I rested my hand over my heart. “You wound me.”

  “I’ve seen you fight witches and werewolves. It would take more than a friendly jest to wound you.” Her voice was dry, her green eyes sparkling.

  “Perhaps.” The ball rolled across the grass behind her. “However, Ty is more easily offended.”

  She whirled around, wincing when the ball went into the woods.

  Ty huffed.

  “Sorry.” She sent an apologetic look in Ty’s direction. “I’ll go get it.”

  Ty bobbed his head in agreement.

  Michelle jogged over to the ball. I watched her roll it out of the woods and shove it in Ty’s direction. The T. rex grunted happily and pushed it back to her. The game went on for several minutes before Ty trotted over and snuffled her hair. She playfully batted him away, grinning widely.

  I found myself smiling contentedly. How had I gotten lucky enough to be her betrothed?

  My smile faded. I had to tell her a demon was in the area.

  At first it had been easy to justify keeping the secret. She was in the hospital. There were questions about her health and how well she would recover from managing so much magic, magic contaminated by a concoction that could be deadly for witches. There had been no reason to burden her with evidence of a demon.

  Then the days passed, and she recovered better than anyone had anticipated. I still could not bring myself to tell her because she was happy rather than worrying about things she could not change. I put it off before I proposed as I did not want anything clouding her judgment. Then we were newly engaged, and I had not wanted to spoil her moment of happiness.

  Those were sad excuses at best. The demon would not stay hidden. Eventually it would make its presence known. It was only a matter of time before she learned it was in the area, and I would have to explain why I had kept the news a secret. I would have to explain more than a week of silence. I would need her understanding and forgiveness.

  I watched as she scratched Ty’s chin. He happily wagged his tail. She said something to him, and he bobbed his head. After kissing his nose, she started in my direction.

  She needed to know. Delaying was only going to make the inevitable worse.

  Michelle stopped a couple of feet in front of me and set her hands on her hips. “I have a very important question for you.”

  “I am listening.” I kept my voice light and playful.

  Her eyes locked with mine. “Can we set a date for the wedding?”

  I froze, afraid to move, afraid to breathe. I could not tell her now, not when she was asking about the wedding. Nor could I set a date, not with the knowledge of the danger ahead of us weighing on me. “Perhaps this is a conversation that could wait until after work.”

  Michelle narrowed her eyes. “This isn’t the first time you’ve been reluctant to set a date. What’s going on? Do you regret proposing?”

  “No. You are the best part of my world.” I held out my hands. She looked at them for a moment before her cool fingers intertwined with mine. “The day you agreed to marry me was one of the happiest days of my life. I cannot wait to be your husband.”

  She sighed. “Then why won’t you set a date?”

  I should tell her, but I could not make myself form the words. Tonight, I promised myself. I would tell her tonight. “There is a time and a place for all things. We have not yet reached the time to set a date.”

  The eye roll told me exactly what she thought of my answer.

  “Please.” I looked deep into her eyes. “Be patient. This is not the time. A task awaits us.”

  She closed her eyes, inhaled, and slowly exhaled before looking at me again. “Will you tell me what this task is?”

  “Tonight,” I promised. It had to be tonight. I could not delay any longer.

  “Tonight it is.” She went up on her toes and kissed my cheek. “Off to work with you. I have to get ready for my meeting with Ethel.”

  I pulled her in for a hug. She snuggled against me, her body pressed against mine. This was what I had to lose if I didn’t tell her. A lifetime of hugs, her laughter as she played with Ty, and nights where it was just the two of us and the whole rest of the world was so very far way.

  When we finally released one another, I tipped her chin up. There were still shadows in her eyes, ones I had put there, but there was nothing to be done about that now. “Ethel may be the premier, but she needs you. You can stand up to her, speak your mind.”

  “I’ll try, but she’s…” Michelle hunted for the word.

  “Ethel is a force of nature. Lesser forces tremble at her very name.”

  Michelle grinned. “That, exactly.”

  “You, my gorgeous witch, are also a force. Do not forget it.”

  “I won’t,” she said solemnly. “Not as long as you remind me.”

  “I believe that is what fiancés are for.” I winked at her.

  She giggled. “You’re so much more than that.” She glanced at her watch and winced. “Now go to work so I can prepare.”

  “Yes, ma’am.” I bowed my head and retreated.

  As I drove away from the lodge, I could see her in my rearview mirror, the sun bringing out the red undertones in her dark brown hair. The pink in her cheeks from the crisp air. Then there was her smile, stealing my heart again.

  Tonight I would tell her. Hopefully my silence had not destroyed the best things in my life. Hopefully she would understand and forgive me. As I drove to work, I asked the sun, moon, and earth to guide us through tonight and what was to come.

  Chapter Two

  Michelle

  “Have you selected a date for the wedding?” Ethel asked between sips of tea. She was wearing one of her usual outfits, a pencil skirt and jacket in a blinding turquoise.

  I shook my head and hoped she would leave it at that. Most people, especially ones who weren’t family, would’ve respected my reluctance to talk about it. Ethel, more formally known as the premier, the head witch of all the witch clans in the United States, was not most people. Add to that my position as her chosen successor, and well, any privacy I had was just an illusion.

  She raised one eyebrow. “Why not?”

  “Great question. Ask Elron. Maybe he’ll give you a better answer than he’s given me. All I’ve gotten out of him is cryptic elven nonsense. My personal favorite was ‘This is not the time. A task awaits us.’” Just saying that made my eyes roll. We were engaged. He owed me a better answer.

  Ethel sat, her shoulders square, back straight, teacup halfway between the saucer and her mouth, and looking far younger than her 328 years. To be fair, we witches had a nice life span, but by any rights she should’ve had one foot in the grave. Instead, she was sitting in my living room, grilling me about my fiancé.

  As annoying as Elron’s evasiveness was, I knew there was a reason. It could be as simple as different ideals. He was over fifteen hundred years old and an elf. I was a twenty-five-year-old witch. We had different ideas about a lot of things, including time lines. But I still wanted him to tell me what was bothering him so we could deal with it and move on. I was getting enough flak when people figured out I was engaged to an elf. Apparently our different life expectancies (he could easily live another two thousand years) and being unable to have children because we weren’t genetically compatible species made our long-term relationship impossible for most people to comprehend.

  Luckily for me, those weren’t insurmountable problems to either one of us. Elron and I had fallen in love when I was living outside the clan structure, long before Ethel had taken notice of me. H
e’d helped me battle a crazy werewolf, a demon, family, and a sorcerer of sorts. We fit together. When that explanation failed to satisfy, I mentioned that the earth and a forest spirit approved. That typically resulted in a rather dazed expression and a muttered apology.

  Ethel returned the teacup to the saucer without taking a sip. “Where is Elron right now?”

  “At work.” Since that was at least twenty minutes away, it put him well out of her reach for the moment.

  A less polished woman would have humphed, but Ethel merely nodded. “I will speak to him, and I expect you to do the same.”

  “Ethel.” I leaned forward. “You may not get a satisfactory answer. Elves have their own timetables for things. I think he’s expecting a long engagement and to spend some of that time ensuring you approve of our union.”

  Her eyes met mine and she flicked her fingers. “It would be better if you married another witch, one with good standing in certain circles. However, I want you to be happy, and he does that.”

  Well, of all the things I’d expected her to say, that wasn’t on the list. “Umm. Thank you.” I settled back into my chair.

  Ethel sipped her tea. “If you were unhappy, it could affect your cognitive abilities. I will not give the witches a mentally compromised premier.”

  “That would be terrible.” Hopefully she wouldn’t hear the sarcasm in my voice.

  “Quiet.” Ethel let the silence stretch just long enough to be uncomfortable before looking me over. “Dr. Stiles informed me that your last checkup went well.”

  I nodded uncomfortably and avoided meeting her eyes. About two weeks ago, a group of us, including Elron, had been trapped in the mountains with Ned, a crazy human who’d found a way to make a magic powder. I’d done something incredibly foolish and absorbed all the magic, both to defeat Ned and to prevent it from falling into anyone else’s hands.

  “Excellent.” For a long moment she studied her tea. “When Elron called me, I feared for your life. After Dr. Stiles did her initial examination, I was concerned you would have lingering effects. That much powder, with those additives… Witches have died.”

  “And I should have been one of them.” I finished her thought for her. Ethel wouldn’t want to say it, but it was true. I’d known the danger when I’d done it.

  Ethel nodded. “I’m most grateful for your good health, but these events have added some complication to your introduction to the clans.”

  “Really? Why would they care if I could do something like that?”

  “Oh, they will most certainly care. The premier can draw a limited amount of power from the clans. Some of them will be concerned that you can draw more power than they would like. Others will worry as to how you would use that power.” She pursed her lips. “The clans do prefer to have a premier with more political than magical abilities.”

  Well, that was news to me, and not particularly good news. Ignoring proper manners, I rested my elbows on the table. “I suspect I’m going to disappoint them.”

  Her eyes pinned me like I was a bug. “We will show them a young witch who values her culture and has an eye on progress. By the time they realize every estimate of your power was accurate, they’ll respect your abilities and your magic prowess will be a footnote.”

  I snorted. “That’s gonna be an uphill battle.”

  “Which is why your lessons are so important.” She grinned wickedly. “How many clans are there?”

  I suppressed a sigh. This line of questioning was going to take some time. “In this country there are three hundred eighty-seven clans. This number tends to fluctuate, and a number of those clans are in name only as they have relatively few members, are being merged with another clan, or are newly founded.”

  “What percentage of newly founded clans persist for forty or more years?”

  “Twenty.”

  “Name the ministers of the one hundred largest clans.”

  Closing my eyes, I took a fortifying breath. “Greg Nelson, my father, Docga; Nancy Oaks, my mother, Wapiti; Kim Scotcher, Aap; Latasha Farrer, Haedus; Ingrid Burch, Kamelos.”

  “No.” Ethel’s voice was sharp. “I want them in order.”

  This time I did sigh. Ten minutes later I’d stumbled through as many of them as I could remember, but I was still missing twelve. I thought that was pretty good for someone who hadn’t been raised knowing all this stuff, but I doubted Ethel was going to see it the same way.

  A single eyebrow rose. “Unacceptable. We will review that list every time we speak until you can do it without pause.”

  “Yes, Premier.” I reminded myself that I wanted to have her job. I wanted to fully integrate the witches with the rest of society. I couldn’t pick and choose what I wanted to learn. Knowing the clans, their relative powers and positions, was a vital part of the job. I wanted to be a good premier, so I needed to be a witch the clans respected and listened to.

  Ethel nodded sharply. “Now, I believe you had a matter you wished to discuss with me?”

  “Yes.” I picked up my teacup, taking a moment to reorder my thoughts. Switching from clan matters to issues relating to my current job was a bit of a swing. “In the past few weeks, I’ve assisted the police on several cases. Discoveries have led both the police and me to believe there is a group of witches producing illegal magical goods. Since all the witches in this country answer to you, I was hoping you knew something about this.”

  Ethel’s gaze sharpened. “I have heard a rumor. Until now I had believed it was nothing more.”

  “Will you follow me to my workroom?” It would be so much easier to show her than try to explain it.

  She set down her tea, and I hurried to give her as much information as I could while we made our way to my workspace.

  “The police have suspected for a while that there was a new black market ring. We were able to verify that witches were producing the goods and that Ned was involved. What we don’t have is a solid lead on who’s producing the items and where they’re located.”

  I flipped on the light and tried not to cringe at the sea of boxes that had taken over the back half of my office. More like two-thirds if I were being honest. For a while it had been nice to have indoor work during the cold months, but I was tired of it. The boxes of objects to be disenchanted were coming in faster than I could work, and I still hadn’t found enough magical evidence to trace them back to an individual.

  “Just how many boxes do you have?”

  “You know, I stopped counting. It was depressing me.” I waved at the open box on my desk. “Have a look.”

  I’d given everything in there a cursory glance before, and I knew Ethel was a more-than-competent witch. She lifted out plates, a frying pan, a set of cups, and a slew of other random household items. The only things they had in common were poorly executed spells and being in my office after having been confiscated by the police.

  As Ethel worked, I could see magic swirling around her. Since I didn’t often have the opportunity to work with another witch, I kept tabs on her process. It was very similar to mine. First came very general probes that wouldn’t set off any of the spells. Then, as she learned more, the probes became more specific. She spent more time on the frying pan and a bag clip than on the rest.

  She finally returned them to the box and turned to me, a deep frown dominating her face. “I will do my own investigation into who may be behind these items.” With that she strode out of my office.

  I trailed along behind her. “That’s it?”

  “Yes.”

  “You must’ve found something. Anything you can tell me would be a help.” Not only did I need her assistance, but so did the police and the poor citizens who were buying these things. None of them made a lot of sense. Magical items aren’t that hard to come by, and while pricy, they’re hardly the most expensive things around.

  Ethel swung around to face me. “This is an area where we must tread carefully. This is more than a simple group selling black market goods. What happens durin
g this investigation and to the witches responsible could have lasting effect.”

  “I’m listening.”

  “Have you considered where and how the items are being purchased?”

  “I’ve considered a great many possibilities. What the police don’t have is a single person who will admit to having purchased one of those items.” That issue was giving them a great deal of trouble all on its own.

  “I doubt the individual remembers the purchase. Based on how similar groups have operated in the past, I believe they’re compelling people to purchase the items, likely at a very high price, and then altering memories.”

  Oh, that made too much sense. I could kick myself for not having thought of it. “And when the thing malfunctions, they give it away, thinking it was some junky gift they received recently and it’s simply a dud.”

  “Correct.”

  There was one part of the explanation that bothered me. “Why sell anything? Why not simply compel the person to hand over money?”

  “I suspect you know the answer.”

  I thought about how compulsions worked, the ones that had worked on me and what they’d done. “The compulsion works better if it’s encouraging a preexisting desire. Like buying a cool new thingamabob. So the witch sells them something, it almost doesn’t matter what, and the seller is long gone by the time it breaks. But how does that help you catch the witches manufacturing all this stuff?”

  “It doesn’t.” Ethel smiled mischievously. “However, I’m old and have several tricks up my sleeve.”

  My own grin quickly faded away under the gravity of the situation. “If you find them, will you tell me? Or the police?”

  She ignored the question completely as she purposefully slid her eyes from me to her jacket. “I must be going. Same time next week?”

  “Yes.” Taking the hint, I picked her jacket up from the chair and helped her into it.

  “You still need to work on your knowledge of clan ministers.” With that she swept out of my apartment. As the door closed, I caught a glimpse of her assistants and guards. I sent a silent thanks to the earth for sparing me their company and flopped down on the sofa.