by T S Paul
Silently, Camilla began to scream.
~~~~~~~
Chuck was driving Anastasia's converted bus toward Maine. Cat watched the road from just behind him in the passenger seat. She worked mentally on both a resignation from the FBI and a formal letter of apology. She couldn't figure out what was worse: leaving the scene of a crime or leaving a note taped to handcuffed assailants. Either was going to make her and her team infamous in the FBI. Agatha could get away with this, but not an Alpha Were from Kentucky. The FBI has more Weres than Witches. She felt a buzzing and pulled her phone out of her pocket and stared at it. Less than ten people knew her number, and three of them were on the bus with her.
"Hello?"
"Cat, is that you?" Agatha's voice tentatively asked.
"Agatha? Thank the Gods. We've been trying to reach you. The assassins know you're in Briarwood and may be on the way to kill you."
"Really? Well, they can get in line. My Aunt Camilla lost it and proceeded to go on a rampage around here killing a police officer and her current husband. I was calling to ask if you can come up here. It's breaking cover, but I need your help to hunt her down."
"We're already en route. We should be there... Chuck, what's our ETA so I can tell Agatha?"
Chuck yelled out "two hours," and "Hey, Agatha."
"So two hours. We wanted to come help you." Cat smiled at the phone.
"Thanks. Your help is needed. Camilla is... Well, she's crazy and extremely pissed off. I had a small confrontation with her in front of about half the town. Get this, she's been telling them I was locked up in a sanitarium in Europe for all these years, Isn't that crazy?"
"This is the same woman you said tried to use Fergus to kill you right? I'd love to hunt her down for you."
"I'm surprised the State Police haven't called you already with our team being the only ones authorized to hunt down rogues. Cappy, Briarwood's Chief of Police, was nearly killed in the attack, but I should be able to get his authorization to investigate. Grandmother has gone to see him in the hospital. I can call him, no problem."
"That sounds good, Agatha. How's Marvin holding up?"
The witch started to laugh. "Wait until I tell you about him. It's a bit crazy. He almost got us both killed. Did you know he had an iguana named Sheila?"
"No. Wait wasn't he whining about someone named Sheila?"
"Cat, you won't believe this, but he is the one that ratted out the WITSEC base. He called his next door neighbor to have her feed the lizard. He called her again at the first place we stopped. They almost got us that time. I caught him the third time, and the whole story came out. I thought it was an actual girlfriend he was missing."
It was evident that Agatha could hear Cat and Chuck laughing through the phone. "Laugh it up, you two. The way he describes her you would have thought she was a woman not a lizard too."
"She could be a Were," Cat suggested.
"Have you ever heard of a Werelizard?"
"No. Where is he now? Not near a phone I hope?"
"No. He's fine. Right now he and Fergus are watching TV. Those two bonded for some reason. Marvin keeps giving Fergus the craziest idea for pimping out that stupid barn. I'll be glad to get that over with too. I need to go check on them. Call me back when you get into town, and I'll meet you. The Mansion is hard to find if you don't know the town." Saying goodbye, Agatha hung up the phone.
~~~~~~~
"How come you didn't tell her about the barn?" Chuck slowed the big bus to stop at a railroad crossing. This part of Maine was beautiful. Almost no cars in sight.
"She was too happy to be hooking back up with us. I didn't want to ruin it." Cat smiled at him, adding, "Besides, she hated that barn. Maybe we can find him a new one somewhere?"
"Where would we find an antique barn that moos out here?" Chuck pointed to all the trees.
"Agatha's Grandmother lives in a town. It should have shops, we'll find something. Besides Fergus is tiny what can he do to you?"
Chuck snorted. "Have you met Fergus? I woke up a couple of times in your dorm room with him sitting on my chest waving that horn of his at me. It may be small, but it's definitely pointy."
Laughing, Cat patted Chuck on the back. "Big bad Werecat is afraid of an itty bitty little unicorn."
"You weren't there. Besides that jumping trick of his is freaky. Have you ever wondered where he gets the stuff that just shows up in that barn? Where does a unicorn get a mirror ball? Who hung it up for him?" Chuck glanced toward Cat and arched his eyebrows at her.
"Hmm. We always thought it was you doing that. Are you telling me that all that stuff like the golden shoes and makeup wasn't you? Because if it isn't, how by all that's holy is he..." Chuck stepped on the brakes suddenly throwing Cat up against the dashboard of the RV.
"What the hell Chuck!" Cat rubbed her side for a moment where she had hit the dash. Her Were healing would make the pain go away in seconds.
"Sorry. A couple of purple squirrels ran out in front of us." He peered over the front of the bus.
"Did they really? Agatha has been telling me about those things for years." Cat looked around for more of the creatures.
Chuck started the bus rolling again. "There's the road to town. Looks like we're in time for the festival this weekend." Chuck pointed to a sign that announced the event.
"Forget it. We have assassins to stop, evil Witches hunting us, and a witness to get to court. No time for purple squirrels."
"But what if I wanted a purple squirrel?" Chuck slowed the bus down as he turned onto Main Street.
"Get Agatha to make you one. Have you ever had squirrel? Those tree rats taste nasty, like pine needles or nuts."
"That's because you've only had the Kentucky variety, Cat. You forget my dad's a man of the world. He's brought me squirrel from all over." Chuck drove to the end of the street and turned left following his map directions app on his phone.
"You told me your father was an accountant. Whatever he's been feeding you isn't squirrel. Trust me on that. Once you've had squirrel, you won't go back. Besides Agatha said those purple ones are supposed to be immortal. Like Fergus is. Is this the right road?"
"Are you two actually debating the taste of squirrel up here? Anastasia and I couldn't believe what we were hearing." Bill hobbled up to chair behind the driver's seat.
Both Werecats looked in his direction and laughed.
"Keep your eyes on the road, Chuck. Running over one of those squirrels won't endear us to the town." Bill pointed forward as Chuck slammed on the brakes yet again.
"Those little buggers are everywhere around here!" Chuck pointed to a house on the hill. A couple of burnt out cars sat surrounded by police tape. Dozens of purple rodents ran too and fro amongst the bystanders and State Police units.
"Looks like we found the crime scene by complete accident. Did Agatha let them know we were coming?" Bill looked at Cat.
"She said she would call them. I guess we better stop. Agatha said Camilla was powerful. This might give us an idea of what we're dealing with. Find a place to park Chuck." Cat directed.
"I'll call Agatha, Cat. With this leg, I can't get around quickly and Ana," Bill paused, looking behind himself, "Ana needs to stay inside."
"We can handle that. Are you able to back us up if we need you?" Bill nodded. He could manage to walk on the leg, but not well.
"Great let's go see the locals." Chuck pulled over to the side of the road. People were already rubbernecking the bus with its big FBI logo.
The State Police were expecting them. Agatha had called them and set it up. The Blackmore name, as well as her SAIC badge, paved the way for Chuck and Cat to get in.
"This woman is pissed about something." Chuck looked at all the destruction inside the house. Every piece of furniture was completely destroyed.
"Agatha said something about her plans being laid bare." Cat looked around and shook her head. "The State Police Sergeant stated that Camilla's daughter showed up unexpectedly and found the house tras
hed and her stepfather dead. She called 911 but put her phone away when Camilla turned up. They recorded her conversation. Camilla admitted to killing him, her ex-husbands, and a local high school coach."
"She doesn't seem to have the control that Agatha has." Chuck pointed to places along the wall where fireballs missed, scorching the ceiling and walls.
"Bill, can you check with Agatha and ask if we should look for anything unusual?" Cat spoke into the team's communication system.
"I've got her on the phone. She says that her grandmother didn't complete Camilla's training. So look for anything that might explain who trained her or something. Agatha says there might be a secret practice room somewhere."
"Love me some secrets." Chuck started knocking on walls in the bedroom.
Cat shook her head. "Chuck, do you seriously think the woman would have a secret room in her bedroom? That's so stereotypical..."
She stopped talking when Chuck found a hidden door in the closet and opened it.
"You need to check this out, Cat!"
The door itself was completely hidden from view inside the closet. Like a tunnel, the door opened to another closet. Sometime in the past, the room had been protected by covering the door and cutting through the closets. The windows in the hidden room were partially obscured by the peaked roof of the rear porch. Unless you knew there was an extra bedroom, you never would have suspected it was there.
"Who was this woman?" Cat asked, but it was rhetorical. The walls of the room were plastered with pictures of men. Some were in compromising situations with the same woman. At the end of the chamber between the two windows was a shrine. Candles and offerings lay piled off to one side. It reminded Cat of the basement room at the paper plant during her and Agatha's first assignment.
"Is that Egyptian?" Chuck pointed to a large stone idol at the center of the display.
Looking at it from both sides, Cat told him it was. "We need to test it, but it looks ancient."
"Start processing the room. Have Ana run everything against the FBI databases. Especially those men. They may be contacts or blackmail subjects that Camilla will use. I'll let the locals know we found something." Cat picked her way out of the room and into the house. Piles of wood and debris were everywhere.
The State Police were standing around poking at one of the burnt out cars when Cat exited the house. Curious neighbors were still watching from their yards.
"Excuse me, Sergeant Chamberlain? "We're starting to process everything. You may want to send your techs up to the master bedroom. We found a secret room along with some freaky stuff in it. Chuck can fill your tech in."
"Thank you, Agent Moore. We do appreciate your assistance with this one. Magick folk don't usually go around killing people in this neck of the woods. Not usually, if you know what I mean. We were surprised at how quickly you responded."
Cat smiled at him. "We were already on our way here on an unrelated case. Is there anything else I can help with?"
"Not that we can think of. Will you need our help to catch this Witch?" All the other officers looked at her when the sergeant asked the question.
Cat shook her head. "No. Special Agent in Charge Blackmore can handle her magick. We have two others in the rig that will help us hunt Camilla Harvey down."
All four of the State Police visibly relaxed. "Great. Just keep us in the loop."
"We can do that. Thank you, officers." Cat stepped past them and climbed up into the big rig.
"Laying it on a little thick there, Cat?" Bill sat behind his desk scrolling through documents.
"I don't think so. See how relaxed they got? They wanted someone to take over. The prospect of ending up frozen solid scares people into religion. Do we have any leads yet?" Cat sat down opposite him.
"Not yet. The pictures you found are all of Camilla's husbands. There were actually seven of them in all. Easy to see how people confuse them. In order Henry, Harrison, Harvey, Harold, Hamilton, Herman, and Peter." Anastasia made the big screen open up.
"The local 911 agency sent us a copy of the tape they made. We have her confession to killing all but one of the H names on that list." Bill pointed out.
"Good. Now if she'll call and tell us where to search, all will be right with the world." Cat pulled up her screen and began typing.
Chapter 19
Camilla could only watch as Hassan, and the other Missionaries of Death loaded her back into one of the cars. The assassins broke up into two groups. One to assault the front house gate, the rest to attack the rear. It was her information that led them to the path Teegan, and she took to play in the hills. The walkway went around the gate, but could only be reached by goats and children. She wanted to rule, and this was not the way she planned it out.
Ruling the Coven and as a bonus, the town had been her dream since she was a child. The Kings and Queens of old passed their rule onto their heirs when they died. Camilla had always believed that was how the Coven leadership should work. Why bother to learn how to do Magick when you're young. Enjoy life. It only matters when you get older. It made so much sense at the time. It wasn't until she got to college that she ran into other Witchborn students who used Magick openly. They were flaunting the Council's rules without punishment, and she realized her mistake. She remembered her conversation with Marcella vividly, as if were just yesterday.
"Mom, I need Magick lessons."
Marcella stopped chopping vegetables and stared at her oldest child. "Now you want to learn magick? What happened to not caring about your community or history?"
"I never said that!" Camilla dragged a stool over to the counter and sat down.
"It was implied when you told me you didn't wish to continue our lessons. Camilla dear, there are a great many things about our world I cannot tell you until you finish your training and reach your majority." Marcella held up her hands as if to stop Camilla. "I can see by the look on your face your wish to argue with me. Just know that the rules are the rules for all Witches regardless of who they are. You sister is the same. She too stopped her training."
"It's not fair! I am already of age to be able to do things. Can you teach me?"
"I can. But I won't. Not until you change that attitude of yours. The magick we are born with is a blessing of the Gods that give us life. Power is something should not be trifled with on a whim or as a game. It is the lifeblood of our community. You must respect it or be prepared to lose it forever."
"Mother! That's not fair!" Camilla repeated herself.
"Life isn't fair. Toughen up, Camilla or doom will be upon you. When you are ready to take things seriously, come back and talk to me."
Camilla remembered storming out of the house. She stayed away from home even longer than before in protest of the treatment her mother was giving her. It was at that time that he found her.
"Humans are just stupid!"
Camilla tossed yet another book on the pile in the Magick and religion section at her college library. This was her last hope. The mundane public library was a total waste of time and not worth the quarter she paid for the card she received. Real magick was so very different from the useless visualization nonsense in the books they had pushed.
Online courses on Magick were a waste. She should know. They already had over a thousand dollars of her money. The money she earned herself picking vegetables and working at the fruit stand next to the Garden. Backbreaking work was not how she intended to live her life. She tossed another book on the pile, but missed and hit a man standing in the aisle.
"Is this one yours?" He picked up the book reading the title. "Religion in Ancient Egypt. Looking for some light reading? Because this is a bit too heavy."
"Take it and go. I just want to be left alone." Camilla felt her eyes tearing up.
"What is it you seek? Is it power or religion?"
"Power. I don't believe in religion," Camilla pouted.
"That may be what your problem is, then. You don't have the power of the gods backing you up. Come with me, l
et me introduce you to the power and the glory of the ancient ways of the gods." He held out his hand.
Camilla looked up at him and shook her head. She didn't know what was real anymore. The man's face was partially shaded from the light, but there was a faint light coming from his eyes. Like they trapped the light instead of only reflecting it. "Take my hand, and all will be revealed."
She reached out her hand, and her life changed. He said his name was Setesh Geb. His parents cast him out at an early age, and he struggled like her to make his way in the modern world. Setesh's outlook on life, death and the Universe at large made many things that much clearer. Camilla's schoolwork practically finished itself. The mean girls and others grew to see her for whom she really was and feared her. Magick and power were what she coveted, and that is what he taught her.
