Witch of All Witches: Tales of Xest #4

by Donna Augustine

  Hawk had left the building. I’d watched him as he disappeared into the night. Everyone else was finally asleep. I’d stopped hearing Bertha and Musso moving around upstairs an hour ago.

  I walked into the office, staring up at Helen.

  “How bad could it get?”

  She didn’t leave it to guesswork this time and shot out a slip that tumbled into the air, doing a flip in front of me. I snatched the note before it dropped to the ground.

  Unknown. Something feels different, but I’m not privy to the workings beyond Xest or Rest.

  “Yeah, well, different makes sense. I doubt that this sort of thing happens often. Any advice?”

  She let out a long, soft humming noise I’d never heard before.

  “Yeah, I’m scared, too.” I gave her machinery a pat. “I’ll try to keep us all intact.”

  11

  I had my head down as I tried to work, but I knew they were staring at me. Not the clients, who had no idea about what happened last night, but the rest of them. They pretended they weren’t, but all their energy was focused on me, as if I were going to snap. The thing no one understood was the more they focused, the more I felt like I would snap.

  It made me want to tell them I was okay, except we had a room full of clients who would surely eat the gossip up like day-old cake. I’d catch an occasional suspicious glance, as if they knew something felt odd, but that was about it, and I wanted it to stay that way.

  It wasn’t that I had a problem being the main gossip of Xest. I’d grown used to it. But I didn’t know myself how I was going to dig out of this current mess, and I didn’t need clients piling in and giving me their two cents with every meeting I had.

  I was sipping my fifth cocoa, thanks to Mertie, who was having a grand old time torturing Gillian today, when an older witch named Tagga cleared her throat.

  “You messed it up again,” she said, pointing at the paperwork as she sat on the other side of my desk. “You wrote Tabatha. That’s my daughter.”

  “Sorry.” I took the sheet back, erasing the spot until the paper nearly had a hole.

  Hawk strode into the office and stopped in the middle of the room, eyeing everyone in the place, which had been bustling with activity right before he walked in. I leaned back, staring at him as he stared at everyone else, their presence in his building clearly annoying him.

  “Everyone out. We’re closing early,” he said, his voice ringing clear to every corner of the room.

  “Here.” I held out the form to Tagga. “Look it over and bring it back tomorrow, after you’ve signed.”

  She took it, giving me a skeptical look before shoving it in her bag and vacating the area with everyone else.

  The place emptied out of clients in under two minutes.

  It was a very good thing Hawk wasn’t on the front lines of client relations. He’d drive the business into the ground in a matter of days.

  Musso stood up from his desk, stretching. “Do you need me, or can I take the night off? Told Bertha we’d go out to dinner tonight.”

  Zab, Bibbi, and I tensed in unison. If Hawk messed up their dinner plans, we could very well be stuck with Bertha’s food tonight, when we didn’t need to be. That was a capital offense in my book. That was nearly worse than having heaven and hell wanting to kill me. If I didn’t get a break from the healthy new cuisine, I’d be begging for death soon.

  “No. I only need Tippi. The rest of you can take an early day,” Hawk said.

  Zab stood, saying something about heading over to the Watering Hole, his favorite place to get a drink, where a lot of his fellow Middlings hung out.

  Bibbi was scowling as she moved around her table in an effort to get closer to Hawk.

  Hawk’s shoulders dropped a hair as she approached. Hawk liked Bibbi, and was often as impressed with her as I was, but this was an area where she could be a bit much.

  She planted herself in front of Hawk, her hands fisted on her hips, ready for battle. “Are you sure you don’t need me? Maybe I should stay behind. If there’s going to be trouble—”

  “It’s a few meetings, Bibbi. I’ve got it under control.”

  Bibbi stared hard. Hawk turned and walked into the back, making it clear he was finished with the discussion, whether she was or not.

  She watched his back, her muscles twitching as she took a half step to go after him but then stopped. She switched her attention to me.

  “What’s going on? Do I need to be here? If something big is going down…”

  “I think he’s got Xazier or Lou heading over. I’ll fill you in later. I promise. If he does, the meetings will go better off with fewer people anyway.” The last thing I wanted to worry about was Bibbi getting angry and somehow getting on their radar. It was bad enough I was on top of their list.

  She looked over her shoulder, at the back room, as if it were taking everything she had not to force an invite to the meeting.

  “What if you forget something important?” she asked.

  “I won’t,” I said.

  Zab was grabbing his jacket across the room, watching us, and I shot him a look.

  “Bibbi, you want to come with me and get a drink?” Zab yelled from across the room. “I’ll get the first round.”

  She glanced at the back room one more time, sighing as she accepted she wasn’t getting in on this meeting.

  “You’re buying the first two.” She grabbed her jacket but paused by me on her way to the door. “Take notes.”

  “I will.”

  The door shut, everyone gone, and I made my way to the back room, where Hawk was leaning a hip on the edge of the sofa, arms crossed, waiting for me.

  “Both, or one?” I asked.

  “Both. Xazier first, and then Lou.”

  That, I hadn’t expected.

  “Why Xazier first?” He hated Xazier more. Hadn’t we just had an almost-argument about me contacting Xazier over Lou?

  “I think he’s less likely to know anything and more likely to be forthcoming if he does.”

  I let that sink in for two seconds before the hypocrisy was too thick to not remark upon. “It’s okay to use his inclinations when it’s your decision?”

  He looked up, as if actually thinking about it, before he said, “Yes. A little more palatable.”

  I shook my head, letting it go, mostly because I had bigger fights at the moment.

  I moved over to the couch and dropped onto it, afraid of any answers we might get today. If Xazier didn’t know anything, nothing gained or lost. If he did know something, it might not matter, as it was over his head and he couldn’t do anything about it. The other possibility was that he had full knowledge and at least some negotiating power. That was the outcome that made me want to pace the room the most.

  “Maybe I should try to strike a deal,” I said, floating the idea to see if it sank or floated, already sensing it would have the buoyancy of a cinder block.

  He looked at me over his shoulder, pausing for a minute as if to make sure I was serious before he bothered answering. “We do nothing of the sort. This is strictly for information.”

  “Unless he puts an offer on the table that I can’t turn down,” I countered, ignoring his glares.

  He turned fully toward me, resting both hands on the couch. “We don’t make any deals.”

  “What if it’s amazing and with an immediate response clause? I might not be able to say no.”

  He was staring at me as if I were insane, but neither of us knew what Xazier would come in here saying. I wasn’t taking anything off the table, no matter how many glares Hawk gave me.

  “Yes, we can. No deal. We do nothing until we talk to both of them, and even then, we don’t rush to action.”

  The door in the office opened, ending the discussion.

  “Hello?” Xazier called out from the other room.

  “In the back,” Hawk said, giving me a last look.

  I gave him one right back.

  “You rang?” Xazier asked as
he walked in, as if he had no idea what was afoot. I might not have believed it was his call, but clueless? That was the one thing I seriously doubted. Still, I kept my eye rolling to a minimum.

  “Let’s not drag this out. I’m sure you heard about the message already. What’s your part in it?” Hawk asked, not mincing words.

  “I have nothing to do with it at all.” Xazier put his hands up.

  “Is this from your boss?” Hawk asked.

  “I’m not privy to his every move, and before you bother to ask, I’m not in a position to question him, especially not right now. The situation here is not being looked at favorably. To be quite honest, I’m keeping my distance from this whole mess as much as I can.” Xazier smoothed his hands over his jacket and had yet to sit. He kept looking at the door as if deciding how long he should even stay. The demon really wanted nothing to do with this situation. Whatever was going down, something had shifted in his opinion and he wanted out of the mess.

  “Why did you bother to show up for this meeting at all?” I asked.

  “Didn’t have any other plans for the evening, so I figured, why not? I’m not a fan of completely ignoring invitations. But now I will be off. Good luck to you all.” He tilted his head in our direction and then made his exit.

  Hawk leaned against the couch. “He knows something more than what he’s saying.”

  “But I don’t think he’s involved. He was too anxious to leave,” I said, not feeling better about the situation. If Xazier didn’t want anything to do with it? That was as bad as it got. He liked getting his fingers in everything. That was who he was.

  “On this we agree,” Hawk said.

  “That doesn’t make me feel any better.” Actually, it made me want to groan aloud, but I wouldn’t, not now. I’d wallow later, when I was alone.

  Unlike Xazier, Lou walked in like he’d expected to be called and was pleased by the invite. He strode in as if he’d just come off the back nine on a sunny day.

  “I’m assuming this is about the message you received? Are you looking for further instruction? If you are, all you need to do is go to the—”

  “We’re not looking to do anything of the sort, and she’s not going to give anything back.” Hawk hadn’t moved off the back of the couch he was leaning on, hadn’t raised his voice, and didn’t need to do either to get the message across that this wasn’t a meeting to surrender. He had that war tone down to a science.

  Instead of hearing what Lou was about to say, Hawk’s interruption, which I was sure was timely, in his opinion, left me guessing.

  Lou’s face immediately shifted away from gracious winner to frustrated brawler. He turned his attention away from Hawk and settled it on me. “Is that what you bothered me for? To tell me you’re not interested in negotiations? That’s the message you want delivered?”

  I had one ally in the room, who I didn’t agree with, but I wasn’t ready to run a bus over him, either. There was some benefit to showing a united front, even if there was a mile-wide crack right behind it. But could I risk Lou going back and shutting down all negotiations? Hawk might be ready for a war with heaven and hell, but I wasn’t.

  “We’re still thinking—”

  “Yes,” Hawk said, cutting me off.

  I glared at him, ready to hit the gas pedal on that big old bus. I turned back to Lou, hoping Hawk took my silent warning to heart. I didn’t want to run over him, but I would do what I had to if he kept at it.

  “We haven’t decided yet,” I said in my calmest negotiation tone. “As you know, I did get a little extra magic recently. I’m not looking to be greedy. We might be able to work something out.”

  Hawk was bristling in the corner, telling me with his eyes that I wouldn’t be giving back one iota if he had anything to do with it. I tried to ignore his energy filling the room, which was extremely hard on a normal day, and focus on Lou.

  Lou shifted his head, as if he was on the fence on what he could do. “I’m sure giving something back might help, but will it be enough at this point? I’m not sure.”

  The conversation had the feeling of trying to get a salesman to come down another ten percent when he already knew the bottom-line price but wouldn’t tell me until after he’d gotten his pound of flesh.

  “There must be some sort of middle ground,” I said.

  Hawk’s energy was filling the room.

  Lou tugged at his collar, as if he could use a little air. “As I began to explain, if you go—”

  “If there is a formal offer in writing, have it presented. Otherwise, we’re done.” Hawk stepped forward, putting an end to the discussion.

  Lou raised his eyebrows, shaking his head as if that were a colossal mistake. He nodded toward me before leaving without another word.

  Hawk and I both held our silence until we heard the other door shut.

  “What was that about?” Hawk asked. “What in the world would make you think it was a good idea to have him think you’re open to giving anything back?”

  I spun on him, fisting my hands on my waist so I didn’t punch him. “Because it’s true. I did take more somehow, and it wouldn’t be the end of the world if I gave some back. I’m trying to compromise so we don’t end up in a mess.”

  “You didn’t take anything. It was given to you. You did nothing wrong in any of this.”

  “That’s what you think, but you don’t know that. Maybe somehow I did take it?”

  “What I do know is I don’t trust him.”

  “He’s from heaven. How bad could the deal be? And it’s not like I’d be giving it to him. His boss wants it back. Do you realize the kind of pressure that is, to have that”—I waved my hands upward—“to want something from you that you’re not giving up?”

  “You’re being too trusting. We don’t do anything unless it’s delivered directly and carved in stone.”

  “It’s not we. It’s me, and if something bad happens, that’s not on we either. It’s very hard to do nothing when there might be an easy fix. If things go bad, you aren’t the reason.” I gave up and devolved to pointing at his chest. I’d be poking it next, which was nearly as bad as punching. Anyone who’d ever been poked could vouch for that.

  He stepped closer, looking like he wanted to strangle me. “It is we. You’re not in this alone.”

  He could say that all he wanted, but it wasn’t the truth. If people got hurt, it wouldn’t be because he hogged all the magic. No one would say he should’ve tried to give it back. His tombstone wouldn’t read, The girl who took it all. I hadn’t asked for it, but if I didn’t give it back, was that any better?

  “That’s what you aren’t understanding. This is my problem. Not yours.”

  Of all the things I could’ve said, that seemed to punch his buttons worse than anything.

  He didn’t say another word and walked out of the room.

  All you need to do is go to the…

  That blank was easy enough to fill in. The hill.

  12

  Don’t negotiate.

  Give them nothing.

  Easy for Hawk to say when he wasn’t the one on the hook for the fate of everyone. He wouldn’t listen to logic. He was so sure his way was right that it was impossible to speak to him. He’d lost his mind. Only a person who’d lost it would think they could win a fight against heaven and hell.

  I pulled my jacket closer around me as I hiked up the mountain. There was one opinion I trusted that I hadn’t heard yet. Bautere was tough, logical, and steady. Most importantly, he wouldn’t bullshit me.

  A loud sound, like a clap of thunder that was right on top of me, blasted through the air and shook the ground violently. I fell to my knees as an earthquake shook Xest to its core.

  And then the ground right beneath me broke open. There was nothing to grab at but snow as I slid into a chasm that grew as wide as a building. I grabbed at anything I could as I slipped along the wall of dirt, finally grabbing on to a tree root, my feet dangling over the abyss.

  “He
lp!” I screamed, my fingers feeling like they were slipping on the muddy root. Every perch my feet found fell away as soon as I tried to put weight on it. I screamed for help as loud as I could as I dangled, hoping someone might be near. I wasn’t that far from Bautere’s, and there were always people patrolling his area.

  “Tippi?” Bautere yelled in the distance.

  “I’m here! I’m in the hole!” I yelled.

  He was leaning over the newly formed cliff seconds later, taking in my dangling form and my precarious position.

  “Hang on! I’m going to get something to drop down to you,” Bautere yelled.

  “Hurry!” I tried again to find purchase with my feet, but no luck.

  A long branch was dropped down, but it was ten feet shy of my grasp.

  “I’m going to get something bigger,” he said, leaving before I could tell him I wasn’t going to make it too much longer.

  My fingers were slowly slipping down the root as my grip weakened and my forearms burned with my weight. I was a witch, conceivably the strongest witch in Xest, and I couldn’t save myself? This was how I was going to die? I wasn’t even trying to use my magic.

  I closed my eyes, imagining myself as a feather, floating upward on a draft of air, and felt myself inching up slightly. I opened them and saw I had, and immediately plummeted again, slipping down the root a few more inches.

  I closed my eyes. Focus. I had to do this or I was dead.

  Light as a feather.

  My weight grew lighter; the strain on my grip became easier. I was lighter than a feather. I envisioned myself as a speck of dust, carried along by the fifth wind. The wind that would gust upward and carry me higher. Slowly, I could feel myself lifting, my hand now level with my shoulder and slowly dropping lower.