by Lily Webb
“I’m one step ahead of you,” Zoe said, and reached into her robes. While I expected her to pull out her wand, instead she produced a compact digital camera. She handed it to me with a devious smile. “Congratulations, Selena. You’re the Moon Grove Messenger’s newest photojournalist and tomorrow’s your first day on the job.”
“Great. Now that’s squared away, can you all get out so I can catch up on my beauty sleep?” Luna asked, and we all burst out laughing.
Chapter 4
By the time Zoe made it downstairs for breakfast the next morning, I’d already been awake and nervously pacing the foyer for more than an hour. I’d slept sporadically, tossing and turning, until I eventually decided that I wasn’t doing myself any favors and got up.
“You must be a morning person. I’m jealous,” Zoe said with a smile as she exited the elevator with her wild red curls flying off in every direction like she’d just rolled out of bed.
“Were you uncomfortable?”
“What? No way! The bed was amazing; I just don’t wake up easily.”
“Oh, okay. Well, don’t let my looks fool you; I only seem awake because I have been since the sun came up.”
Zoe grimaced. “Yikes. Anxious about today, I assume?”
“Is it that obvious?” I asked, and Zoe laughed as she looked me up and down.
“A bit. You remind me of my first day working at the Messenger. Dear Lilith, that feels like a lifetime ago. Funnily enough, I was shadowing my boss that day, the editor-in-chief, and I was probably more of a wreck than you are. But hey, look at me now: I’m a big-shot reporter.”
“It’s not the job I’m worried about. Are you sure this plan will work?” I asked. I was still a relative nobody in Starfall Valley, but if what Zoe said about my alleged reputation was true, wouldn’t Mr. Blackwood recognize me? And what would he do if that happened?
Zoe laughed and put a hand on my shoulder. “Whoa, slow down there, Speed Racer. No wonder you couldn’t sleep. Don’t worry, Blackwood won’t have a clue who you are. Trust me, he’s way too busy to keep tabs on someone like you, even with your powers.”
“What if you’re wrong?”
“Then I’ll be right there with you for the fallout, but I’m telling you, it isn’t gonna happen. Now come on, let’s grab something to eat before we get to work,” Zoe said, and ushered me out of the foyer toward the kitchen in the western wing like she was the one who worked at Kindred Spirits rather than me.
“How did you know the kitchens were over here?”
Zoe wrinkled her nose. “Followed the smell. Whatever Emile’s cooking, it’s making my mouth water.”
“Prepare to have your mind blown,” I said as we entered the kitchen through the floor-to-ceiling wooden double doors and found the massive dining room table that stretched nearly from one end of the room to the other buckling under the weight of the breakfast Emile had prepared.
Plates stacked with leaning towers of pancakes in all different flavors beckoned us toward them, and littered between them were bowls of every fruit imaginable, perfectly sliced to top the fluffy main course.
“Wow, you weren’t kidding,” Zoe muttered, stunned as she took in the spread. She shot an incredulous look at me. “How do you stay so thin eating like this all the time?”
I laughed and shook my head. “This isn’t a daily occurrence. Emile saves this kind of treatment for really special guests, so something tells me that Blair told him to go all out for you.”
“Seems like a lot of this is gonna go to waste, but who am I to complain?”
“Then you clearly haven’t met me, lassy!” a boisterous voice called from across the room, and I had to hold back a laugh when I spotted Aron, the dwarven architect, sitting at the table with a knife in one hand and a fork in the other. He’d already tossed his trailing white beard over one shoulder to avoid dipping it in the syrup that ran down the skyscraper of pancakes he’d stacked on his plate.
“Zoe, meet Aron. He lives in the suite next to yours,” I introduced them, and Aron offered Zoe a beaming smile before he shoveled another forkful of carbs into his mouth. “I swear to Lilith, he eats at least two to three times his body weight in food every day,” I added in a whisper to Zoe, and she chuckled.
“Then don’t introduce him to Luna; I’m trying to get her to lose weight, so she doesn’t need any bad influences.”
We shared a laugh and sat down in front of two empty plates across from Aron. Since no one else had arrived yet, and I knew I’d need the energy to get me through the rest of the day on such little sleep, I picked up a fork and jabbed it into a strawberry pancake from a nearby stack and plopped it onto my plate with a wet slap.
Zoe chose a banana and chocolate chip variety, which I thought suited her personality, and we ate in relative silence, save for the sounds of Aron chomping and huffing. As much as I knew I needed to eat, my stomach was too agitated to choke more than half of the rich pancake down. Zoe, however, wolfed down three of them, nearly giving Aron a run for his money.
“Much better,” she sighed as she dropped her fork on the plate, startling me. “You didn’t eat much, Selena. Everything okay?”
“I’m just nervous,” I said, but didn’t have time to elaborate because Emile burst through the swinging doors that led to the prep room carrying a tray in both hands. At its center sat a large, steaming coffee pot, surrounded by half a dozen porcelain mugs already filled to their brims.
“Bonjour et bienvenue, Madame Clarke!” Emile said chipperly as he zoomed across the room in an almost imperceptible blur toward us and came to such a smooth halt that the coffee in the mugs didn’t slosh. He bent elegantly to maneuver the tray in front of Zoe and flashed her a fanged smile that on any other vampire would’ve been unsettling. “May I offer you a cafe au lait? Or maybe perhaps a cappuccino? Whatever you please.”
“A plain ol’ coffee would be just fine, thanks,” Zoe said as she searched for one among all of Emile’s caffeinated confections.
“A splendid choice,” Emile said and, in a blur, he’d set the tray on the table, produced an empty mug, and begun filling it with coffee from the pot at the center of the tray. He passed it to Zoe with a typical Emile flourish. “There you are. Please enjoy,” he said and moved the tray to the center of the table for the rest of us to help ourselves before zipping away back to the prep rooms.
“I’ve never met such a friendly vampire in my life. They’re usually trying to kill me, not caffeinate me,” Zoe said, and I laughed.
“I know the feeling,” I said as she took a ginger sip of her coffee and let out a delighted groan.
“Wow, I don’t think I’ve ever tasted coffee this good. Where did you find him? I might have to borrow him for a while.”
I shrugged. “No idea; he was here before me.”
“Too bad. Anyway, we’d better get this show on the road before breakfast sends me into diabetic shock,” Zoe said as she pushed back from the table. “Do you think Emile will mind if I take the coffee to go?”
“I’m sure we have more than enough mugs. He won’t miss a couple of them,” I said and picked up a cappuccino from the tray.
“And what about Jadis? Do you think she’ll be upset if we leave without her?”
“Probably, but she’ll just have to live with it. Besides, it’s pretty rare that I’m awake before her, so I guess this is my reward. She can meet up with us later, if we’re still out.”
“All right, then let’s move,” Zoe said, but I hesitated. I didn’t know how to tell her she didn’t exactly look like she was ready to interview an insanely rich mayoral candidate — but as soon as I thought about it, I realized I might as well have said it out loud.
Zoe cackled. “I’m a mother of twin toddlers; this is the best I’ll ever look. If Blackwood doesn’t like it, that’s his problem. Besides, maybe it’ll falsely put him at ease around me,” she said and rooted around in her robes for her wand. Once she produced it, she wrapped the arm holding it around me, gave it a w
ave, and shouted “Evanesco!”
The surrounding room melted into a kaleidoscope as my molecules rearranged themselves, and I squeezed my eyes shut before the swirling visuals made me sick. A moment later, my feet collided with solid ground again, and my head swam as my body tried to reorient itself. I doubted I’d ever get used to traveling via magical teleportation.
But when I reopened my eyes, I found Zoe standing and sipping her coffee, which amazingly hadn’t spilled all over her in the move, like nothing at all had happened. I had no idea what’d happened to my cappuccino, but I’d lost it somewhere. I blinked several times to disperse the tears that’d welled in my eyes from the sheer force of being compressed and stretched across time and space like a roll of pizza dough — and realized I had no clue where we were.
“Blackwood’s definitely got money,” Zoe said, and stared up at the castle-like mansion that loomed over us from behind a spiked, wrought-iron fence that stood at least ten feet high. A range of mountains sprang up from behind the manse like stone teeth, giving the building the impression that some horrible beast had tried and failed to devour it.
“Where are we?”
“Way out on the western edge of town. I’m not even sure this place is technically within Starfall Valley, but I guess when you’re this rich, you can probably afford to invent your own borders.”
Slowly, I turned around and squinted against the burning sun high in the sky to look for some sort of landmark. Though it was faint, I eventually found a pinprick that I thought was Starforce Tower, which meant that Zoe wasn’t kidding; we really were way out of town. I didn’t like that at all. What if something went horribly wrong while we were out here? Was that what had happened to Rory Hallewell, too?
“Take a deep breath, Selena. Everything’s gonna be fine,” Zoe said and put her hand on my shoulder again. “Leave all the talking to me. You’re here to take pictures, remember? And I want you to take as many as you can — or at least as many as Blackwood’s handlers will allow you to. Do you think you can do that?”
I nodded and stood up straight to force the courage I didn’t really feel to come. Why was I so nervous, anyway? I’d faced much more frightening people and creatures than Leo Blackwood in the past. So what was the worst a rich guy could do? “Yeah, I can handle it.”
“Good. Here you go,” Zoe said, handing me the camera she’d first shown me the night before. “You know how to work one of these, right?” she joked, and I laughed with her.
“Who’s there?” a disembodied voice asked, startling us both. Zoe dropped her mug, which shattered against the ground. Despite spinning in a circle, I saw no one that could’ve been the source of the sound.
“This is Zoe Clarke with the Moon Grove Messenger. I have an appointment for an interview with Mr. Blackwood at ten,” Zoe said to the open air.
“And who is the other witch?”
“This is Julia Feron, my photographer,” Zoe lied smoothly for me, and though I didn’t know if whoever was watching us would see, I held up the camera to illustrate the point.
“Very well. Please enter the grounds and an escort will retrieve you,” the voice said, and a moment later, a squealing noise ripped through the morning air as an opening in the fence surrounding the castle appeared.
I gulped and looked at Zoe. “After you.”
Without skipping a beat, Zoe trotted fearlessly into the courtyard, and I followed right on her heels to a giant stone fountain. As we approached, the towering glass doors of the manse swung open, and two warlocks in all black suits stepped out with their hands clasped behind their backs. For half a second, I worried they might approach us and wipe our memories like the Men in Black, but they stopped across from us and nodded.
“Ms. Clarke, Ms. Feron. Welcome to Blackwood Manor,” the warlock on the left said. “Mr. Blackwood is waiting for you in his private study. We’ll escort you there, and we ask that you kindly not touch or take photographs of anything during the journey.”
“Understood,” Zoe said nonchalantly, though I knew the request must have annoyed her. It didn’t bother me, though; the intimidating security guards made me so nervous that any pictures I tried to take would’ve turned out a blurry mess, anyway.
“Right this way then, please,” the left warlock said, and the two of them spun in perfect unison to march back up the polished stone stairs. We followed them into the mansion’s foyer, which despite its clinically modern styling — all clean white and sharp angles — still put Kindred Spirits’ to shame. Placed exactly in the center of the room, a fireplace at least the size of the fountain outside crackled with the embers of a recently extinguished fire.
Morning light spilled in through the windows mounted in the ceiling and bounced off the blindingly white tiles that clicked against my shoes. It looked like someone’s modern interpretation of the gates to Heaven, which was exactly the hubris I should’ve expected from a family as rich as the Blackwoods.
We moved around the fireplace to a set of disconnected black stairs that jutted out of the wall without a railing and led to the second of Lilith only knew how many floors. The security guards hurried up the stairs without thinking twice about it, but as soon as I put my foot on the first step, I froze. If there wasn’t a railing nor a mandate not to touch anything — which I assumed included the pristine white wall the stairs sprang from — then how on Earth was I supposed to ascend without falling over the unguarded left edge and breaking my neck?
“Just keep your eyes glued ahead,” Zoe whispered from a few stairs above, clearly having read my mind again. With a deep breath, I locked my eyes on her back and tried to think of anything other than the ground falling away below me. Somehow, miraculously, I made it to the top and entered an expansive room defined only by its lack of walls. Infinite glass windows replaced them, allowing fiery morning light to illuminate the few spartan bookcases and black leather chairs in the room that probably cost more than I’d ever make in my life.
Distracted by the wealth on display, I almost didn’t notice the blond-headed man sitting in one chair with a leg kicked up over the other, but as soon as I did, I knew it was Leo. He flashed us a warm smile, making his icy blue eyes flash. “Good morning, Ms. Clarke. I’m pleased to meet you,” Blackwood said as he stood and straightened his navy blue suit jacket. “And you, Ms. Feron, though I have to admit I didn’t know there would be a photographer accompanying you, Ms. Clarke. It’s a good thing I dressed appropriately,” he added with a little laugh that sounded rehearsed.
“I’m sorry for the surprise, but are you kidding? You look like you’re ready for a cover shoot,” Zoe quipped, as cool as a cucumber, and I thanked her silently for taking the lead. I doubted I could’ve given more than one-word answers if Blackwood had addressed me.
“Oh, there’s no need for flattery,” Blackwood said.
“Do you mind if Julia snaps a few photos of you and the space for the piece while we chat? We can do a more formal shoot after,” Zoe said.
“Not at all. Please, make yourselves comfortable.”
Zoe plopped into the nearest chair as if she owned it. Despite her request for me to take pictures, I followed her lead. I didn’t want to get close to Blackwood for fear of tripping over him. While I fiddled with the camera to get it ready, I tried to make sure as little of my body as possible touched the chair’s leather surface.
“So, where would you like to start?” Blackwood asked.
Zoe reached into her robes and pulled out a small notepad and a pen, which she readied. “Why don’t you tell me about why you decided to run for mayor of Starfall Valley?”
“That’s a brilliant question,” Blackwood started, but as he continued, I zoned out. My eyes wandered around the room, and despite the various end tables decorated with fancy busts of rich people I didn’t recognize, I couldn’t shake the feeling of how empty the space felt. How did anyone live like this — and why?
“Well, that’s easy for you to say. But can you really accuse Mayor Nash of faili
ng to protect the citizenry of Starfall when the body was found by your staff on your property?” Zoe asked, snapping my attention back to the conversation.
“My colleagues warned me you weren’t afraid to ask tough questions. They weren’t wrong,” Blackwood laughed, though I noticed through the camera’s viewfinder as I aimed it at him that the fake expression of friendliness he’d worn before had fallen away, replaced by a barely noticeable tinge of red on his cheeks. When I pressed the shutter and it snapped, Blackwood shot me an irritated look, so I quickly lowered the camera.
Zoe shrugged. “To be fair, I warned your staff I wouldn’t pull any punches.”
Blackwood arched a precision-plucked blond eyebrow at her. “Why do I get the sense that you’re not really here to speak with me about my campaign?”
Zoe slumped back in her chair. “Because I’m not. I’d much rather hear what you have to say about what you think might’ve happened to Rory Hallewell.”
Blackwood’s fingers clutched the arms of his chair, turning his knuckles white. “How did you…?”
“I’m a journalist, Mr. Blackwood. Digging up information is what I do,” Zoe said, and though I couldn’t see her face, I knew she was smiling.
“I don’t have any idea what happened to Ms. Hallewell, nor any idea why she was on my property,” Blackwood said as calmly as he could, though he still hadn’t stopped squeezing his chair.
“So it really was Rory Hallewell, then?” Zoe asked, and I had to bite my tongue to keep from squealing at her brilliance. She didn’t really know it was Rory’s body, but she’d just effortlessly tricked Blackwood into admitting it on the record.
The lower lid of Blackwood’s left eye twitched as he straightened in his chair. “Yes. But you can’t print that. It’s an active investigation.”
“Fair enough, but I’ve gotta say, a dead witch turning up on your property looks awfully suspicious, Mr. Blackwood.”
“Suspicious? How? I’d never even heard of Ms. Hallewell until one of my guards found her dead.”
