“He’s dead!” someone whispered, and my blood ran cold. Had someone seriously just died?
“What happened?” another voice hissed.
“Stabbed through the heart.”
“I thought the stake had to be made of silver to kill them.”
“No, silly, that’s bullets. Any old stake can kill a vampire.”
I stopped breathing as I heard the words, and began trying to push to the front of the crowd. I had to see for myself. Had there really just been another murder here in Western Woods? This was such a peaceful place most of the time; I couldn’t believe this could have happened.
Still, as I approached the front of the crowd and made my way to the police tape – magically enchanted so no one could get past – I let out a gasp.
It was the vampire who had tried to flirt with Aquaria at the coffee stall. He was lying on the ground now, his eyes staring lifelessly up into the sky. A stake had pierced him right in the chest, and he lay spread-eagle on the ground, half-hidden between the side of a stall selling fruits that came straight from the tropics and a large rock next to it. His head was hidden, all I could see was his well-tailored suit with a piece of wood sticking out of the chest, and his patent-leather shoes. The vampire had obviously cared about looks; even the soles of his shoes looked clean.
To be completely honest, he almost looked like he was sleeping. The vampire had been pierced with a stake, but there was no blood. I supposed that was because they were undead.
A flash of blonde hair moved past me and I recognized Chief Enforcer Aria King, the lion shifter in charge of law enforcement here in Western Woods. She was making her way towards a group of vampires, three of them. I recognized them as being the friends of the vampire who had been killed; he had gone back to them after getting his coffee.
The discussion that ensued was obviously heated. One of the vampires scanned the crowd, then pointed a finger. I followed to where he was pointing and saw Aquaria, her face instantly going white. It looked like she was being pointed out as a suspect.
I broke away from the crowd and made my way towards the fairy. After all, I imagined she could probably use a familiar face right about now.
“Hey,” I said, sliding up next to her a moment later. “How are you doing?”
“He’s dead,” she replied simply. “And I think his friends think I killed him.”
“Yeah, they probably do,” I replied, deciding the truth was probably a better idea than a lie. “Listen to me, Aquaria. Chief Enforcer King is going to have to speak to you, but that doesn’t mean you’re a suspect, ok? She needs to talk to you because you got into an altercation with him. It’s going to be fine. You didn’t kill him, right?”
A hollow laugh escaped the fairy’s throat. “No, goodness me, no. I thought he was a creep, and normally when I deal with creeps I just let it slide, you know? But I’ve just had the worst day. I woke up to the water main breaking inside my home, so I called a magical fixer but a bunch of my stuff was ruined. Then I got to work late and my boss chewed me out, and I felt bad since I only just started working at the stall last week. So when he decided to flirt with me, I just had it, you know?”
“I know,” I told her with a nod. “And hey, if you’re going to take your anger out on someone, it might as well be the creepy vampire trying to flirt with you when you’re just trying to do your job, right?”
“Exactly,” Aquaria said, flashing me a grateful smile. “Do you really think it’s going to be ok? Chief Enforcer King isn’t going to throw me in jail, is she?”
I shook my head. “In all my dealings with her, Chief Enforcer King has always been just and fair. I don’t think you have anything to worry about.”
“Thanks,” Aquaria said to me. “Here she comes now. Oh, goodness me, I’m really nervous. I didn’t like the vampire, but I definitely didn’t kill him!”
“Then you don’t have anything to worry about,” I said reassuringly as Chief Enforcer King made her way towards us.
“Tina,” she greeted me with a nod. “And Aquaria. I’m wondering if I’d be able to speak with you about the events of this afternoon.”
“Yeah. Um, sure,” Aquaria said, hesitating.
“Don’t worry, it shouldn’t take long,” Chief Enforcer King said kindly, and Aquaria nodded, seeming more at ease.
“I saw everything that happened between Aquaria and the vampire, if you’d like me to stay,” I offered, and Chief Enforcer King nodded.
“That would be great, thanks. Stay here while I have a quick chat with Aquaria, and I’ll speak with you when I’m finished.”
I watched as Chief Enforcer King led Aquaria away from the crowd and to a slightly calmer area around the corner. A few Enforcers were trying to keep the crowd under control, and trying to convince people to disperse and let the Enforcers do their job, but it appeared to be pretty hopeless. The onlookers were far too curious.
After all, I supposed it wasn’t every day a dead body showed up in the market.
I sent Amy a text letting her know what was going on, and waited for Chief Enforcer King to come back with Aquaria so she could speak with me, too.
Chapter 5
It took about fifteen minutes before Chief Enforcer King returned, and Aquaria’s already-pale complexion had gone practically ghost-like.
“I suggest you go home now, get away from the crowd,” Chief Enforcer King suggested, and Aquaria nodded, gave me a weak smile, and began fluttering through the onlookers, making her way away from the body. Chief Enforcer King looked at me pointedly before walking off and I followed after her. She took me around the police cordon, a couple of rows away from the stalls where the people were clustered, which was surprisingly private. I supposed if people couldn’t see the dead vampire’s body, what was the point?
I shuddered as I pushed the macabre thought from my head, and Chief Enforcer King pulled out a pen and small notebook.
“Alright, thanks Tina, for volunteering to let me know what happened. Can you go through everything you saw, please?”
“Sure,” I nodded, recounting everything I noticed about the events of earlier that day. I told Chief Enforcer King that the vampire had been completely inappropriate with Aquaria, and that she had definitely snubbed him, but nothing he did even came close to something you would murder someone over.
She scribbled notes as I spoke, and I couldn’t help but notice how intense she was being.
“You don’t seriously think Aquaria could have killed that vampire, do you?” I asked. “Who was he, anyway?”
“If there’s one thing I’ve learned in my time it’s that anyone is capable of anything,” she replied. “His name was Florin. Young, by vampire standards. Three-hundred-and-something years old. Such a shame.”
“He wasn’t local, was he?”
“No, but he had family here. He came from another paranormal town in Washington, but spent most of his time here. The three vampires you saw him with today are local, they’re all his cousins.”
“Ah,” I said. “Well, there’s one other thing that’s bugging me. If Aquaria was working at the coffee stall all day, she wouldn’t have had the opportunity to murder him.”
“Her shift ended ninety minutes ago, when the stall closed,” Chief Enforcer King said with a wry smile. “And don’t think I don’t realize what you’re doing. You and your friends are not to get involved in this murder investigation.”
“Oh, don’t worry,” I said, shaking my head vehemently. “I’m not considering that at all. I’m just curious. Frankly, between Sara being a celebrity now, and Ellie starting up a new baking business, I don’t think there’s going to be enough time in my life for anything else. I’ve already had to cancel one of my weekly movie nights this month, I don’t want to have to do it again.”
“Good, because I don’t need a handful of witches who mean well but have zero law enforcement experience coming in and trying to start their own investigation,” Chief Enforcer King said pointedly. “I heard a ru
mor earlier that Ellie was out here selling cinnamon buns.”
“And some other things,” I said proudly. “I imagine she’s sold out by now; I’m going to go over and see her after this.”
“Good for her,” Chief Enforcer King said with a nod. “It’s quite disappointing what ended up happening with the café, but I’m glad to see the employees seem to be landing on their feet, for the most part.”
“Yes, I think the only person who isn’t convinced that she’ll be successful at running her own business is Ellie.”
“That’s a good thing,” Chief Enforcer King replied. “I’ve seen a lot of businesses start up in Western Woods, and I’ve seen a lot of businesses fail. The ones that fail are often the ones headed up by the people with the most confidence. The ones who think they can’t lose are the ones who aren’t as religious about the paperwork, or aren’t as careful about the details. It’s the ones who realize how hard it’s going to be right from the start and who are rightfully apprehensive who end up being successful.”
I smiled. “Ellie is definitely doing her best to do things right.”
“Good. I hope she succeeds, I really do. Anyway, I have to get going. I have an investigation to take care of, after all.”
“Right, sorry to keep you,” I said. “Good luck.”
Chief Enforcer King gave me a quick smile of thanks before heading back towards the police cordon and the body. I shook my head sadly and made my way in the other direction, towards The Witching Flour.
By the time I got there, even though the day wasn’t over yet, Ellie and Sara were already packing up to leave.
“Sold out already?” I asked, and Ellie replied with a grin that reached from ear to ear.
“It’s amazing! I can’t believe it! Everyone has been so wonderful to me, and so supportive.”
“That’s great,” I said with a smile. “Although, I’m not going to lie, I was kind of hoping there would be a few extra cinnamon buns left over to eat tonight.”
Ellie laughed. “Honestly, after the help the three of you have given me, I’m completely willing to go home and make you all a huge batch as a thank you.”
My mouth began watering at the idea, but I knew I wouldn’t take her up on the offer. Ellie had to be completely exhausted.
“What’s been going on the last few minutes, though?” Sara asked. “It seems like everyone’s heading over to the other side of the park.”
“A vampire was murdered,” I said in a quiet voice, and Ellie’s mouth dropped open while Sara gasped.
“Murdered? Seriously? Here in Western Woods?” Sara said.
I gave a solemn nod. “I saw the body. Stabbed through the heart with a wooden stake.”
Ellie shook her head sadly. “What are things coming to these days? It wasn’t that long ago that there had been no murders in town in recent memory. Now it feels like people are dropping like flies. What vampire was it?”
“Chief Enforcer King said his name was Florin. He’s not from here, lives in Washington but in one of the other towns. He does have three cousins who live in Western Woods, though.”
“Oh, I know who that is,” Sara said, her eyes widening. “I think I met his cousins a few times when I worked for the law office; they were constantly getting into trouble. One of them mentioned that they had family somewhere else. Not Pacific Cove, but maybe Spokurse?”
“I’m not surprised they were troublemakers,” I said wryly. “Florin tried hitting on Aquaria while she was serving him coffee, and she was having absolutely none of it. I think he would have tried to make more of a scene, but realized the crowd wasn’t exactly ok with his actions. I think one of the other witches around actually cast a spell to make his coffee boiling hot.”
“Oh, I heard Aquaria was working at the coffee roaster’s stall,” Ellie nodded, then paused, worry coming over her features. “Hold on, she’s not a suspect, is she?”
I shrugged. “I don’t think she should be. I mean sure, she had an altercation with the guy, but it’s not the sort of thing you murder someone over.”
“Still,” Ellie said thoughtfully, “did she have the opportunity to do it?”
“I think she did. The coffee stall closed before the vampire was murdered. I guess she could have hunted him down and killed him. But I mean, can you really see Aquaria doing something like that?”
Ellie raised her eyebrows at me. “You probably never heard about this, but when she was young, Aquaria was actually arrested for killing her mother.”
My mouth dropped open. “What?”
“The mother was abusive, very much so. Everyone knew it, but there was nothing anyone could do about it, because Aquaria refused to admit it to the authorities. One day, Aquaria’s mother was found dead. No one knew where Aquaria was. Eventually they found her, in the forest, covered in blood. She was maybe ten, eleven years old, something like that. The Enforcers arrested her, and took her into town. As soon as she saw her, Chief Enforcer King ordered that Aquaria be uncuffed. She brought in some experts that knew how to deal with abused fairies, and it turned out that Aquaria had snapped when her mother cut her with a knife. She grabbed the knife away from her mother and stabbed her with it multiple times.”
“Wow. I had no idea.”
“No, you wouldn’t, having only lived here a few months,” Sara explained. “It was a huge thing when it happened. Obviously Aquaria was declared innocent because it was self-defense. But then we all figured it was best not to talk about it, so it’s kind of fallen into the black hole of history. Aquaria spent most of her teen years getting a ton of therapy, and speaking with Healers who could help her get her life back on track, and it’s worked wonders.”
“You would never know her family history seeing her now,” Ellie agreed. “But it also means that when something like this happens, she’s automatically going to be a suspect.”
I shook my head. “That seems wrong, somehow. I mean, she’s obviously worked super hard to get where she is, mentally. She shouldn’t be considered a suspect because of something that happened when she was a child that was self-defense.”
“I agree,” Ellie said. “Honestly, having worked with her, Aquaria can get her hackles up a little bit faster than most fairies, but she’s still a good fairy. There isn’t an evil bone in her body, and I don’t think she would have killed the vampire.”
“Well, we don’t have to worry too much,” Sara said. “Chief Enforcer King knows the whole story; she’ll do right by Aquaria.”
Ellie nodded. “Absolutely.”
I joined Ellie and Sara in tearing down the rest of the stall, and we were soon joined by Amy. Half an hour later we were all packed up and ready to head home, with Ellie’s first day as a business owner having been a resounding success.
Chapter 6
“What do you think of Dodgeball?” I asked Mr. Meowgi, almost talking to myself. I was sitting on the couch, idly watching TV, thinking about my next movie night. It was the following morning, and everyone else was enjoying a well-deserved sleep in. Well, except for Amy. I wasn’t entirely sure where she was, but I was willing to wager a guess that she was at the library.
“I have no idea what that is, but it sounds exciting. Is that one of your human world games?”
I nodded. “Yeah. Every kid plays it growing up in school. But it’s also a movie that came out when I was about ten years old, something like that. It’s hilarious, and I was thinking it could be a good option for next Wednesday’s movie night.”
“I still think you need to play more Bruce Lee movies,” Mr. Meowgi grumbled.
“Oh come on, you got to see all the Rush Hour movies with Jackie Chan in them, and I played Enter the Dragon for you like a month ago. We need variety, or else people will stop coming.”
“Fine,” my familiar said. “At least a sports movie sounds like it would be close enough to martial arts to be interesting.”
“You’ll enjoy it, I promise,” I said with a smile.
“In that case, I’m al
l for it,” Mr. Meowgi replied. I nodded, and decided that was settled. I was going to have to ask Kyran to find me a DVD of the movie the next time he was in the human world, and bring it back to me by next week.
My stomach grumbled, and I got up off the couch and made my way into the kitchen. Unfortunately, it had been a few days since any of us had gone grocery shopping, and I found the cupboard definitely lacking in decent breakfast options.
Grabbing my purse and jacket, I decided it was a good morning to get some fresh bread from the bakery that had opened a couple months ago. They made some mouth-watering sourdough.
“I’m going out, are you coming?” I asked Mr. Meowgi, and received a hiss in return.
“Have you looked at the thermometer? As soon as the temperature outside begins with a three, I’m out.”
“It’s almost forty degrees out,” I replied. “It’s not even that cold. And you have a fur coat to keep you warm.”
“Maybe, but the heater in here is a lot warmer than forty,” Mr. Meowgi replied. “I’ve made my choice. If you’re not back in a couple of hours, I’ll assume you froze to death.”
“Fine, fair enough,” I said with a laugh. “I shouldn’t be too long; I’m just going to grab a few things to eat.”
I slipped out into the cold weather and shivered involuntarily. There was absolutely no way I was going to admit to my familiar that he was right about the weather being cold, and besides, we really did need some food.
I flew into town and stepped into the little cottage where the bakery was located, immediately rubbing my hands together as the warmth from the inside of the building seeped into my bones. It was definitely going to be a cold winter.
Looking around, I obviously wasn’t the only person in Western Woods who had the idea of coming to the bakery for some fresh bread this morning. The couple of tables and chairs were already filled, and so many paranormals packed the small space that there was barely any room to move and see what was on offer that morning.
Six Ways to Spellday Page 3
