Magic & Misdeeds

by Annabel Chase

  The goat observed me coolly before returning his attention to my aunt. “My family is in awe of your talent. We appreciate you agreeing to this meeting.”

  I glanced over the goat’s head and the animals assembled behind him. There were squirrels, mice, and a fox.

  “It’s nice to see blended families,” I said.

  Aunt Hyacinth looked at me sideways. “Do I need to conjure a spell to silence you?”

  I sealed my lips and stood quietly by her side.

  “I understand you’re acquainted with the woodland bandit that’s been trespassing and stealing from my property,” Gilbert said.

  “That woodland bandit is the familiar of my niece,” Aunt Hyacinth said. “And I’m not certain what you’re defining as your property. The last time I checked, this forest was regulated by the town but owned by no one.” She took a step closer to the goat. “Or perhaps I have been misinformed.” She tapped the end of her wand rhythmically against her open palm.

  The goat took an unsteady step backward. “I’ve been, you know, in charge of this area.”

  “Under whose authority?” she asked. The power in her voice was unmistakable. I involuntarily shuddered and it wasn’t even directed at me.

  Gilbert opened his mouth and bleated. The other animals cowered behind him.

  Aunt Hyacinth cupped a hand to her ear. “I beg your pardon, Gilbert. I didn’t quite catch that.”

  “Mine,” he said, in a way that would convince no one.

  “As it happens, this forest falls under my domain,” my aunt said. She held out her wand and I watched in amazement as it extended into a staff. She jammed the end of the staff into the ground. “Mine.”

  “Capisce?” I added for good measure.

  Gilbert and the woodland creatures jerked their heads up and down, too rattled to speak.

  “If I hear of any further issues regarding boundaries or turf,” Aunt Hyacinth said, “I shall pay you a visit.” She sauntered closer to him, clutching the staff in both hands. “Trust me, my dear. You do not want me to pay you a visit.”

  “And you leave Raoul alone,” I said, shaking an angry finger for good measure. “He’s been trying to show kindness to the others while you’ve demonstrated nothing but selfishness. Try to learn something from him instead of trying to keep him in line.”

  Gilbert bleated again. Then he turned and trotted through the forest with the other animals scampering behind him.

  I waited until they’d disappeared from view to speak. “What kind of goat lives in a forest?” I asked.

  Aunt Hyacinth shrugged. “This is Starry Hollow, darling. You share pizza with a rabid animal on a regular basis.”

  “Raoul isn’t rabid.”

  “Then why do I see him foaming at the mouth so often?”

  “That’s not foam,” I said. “That’s whipped cream. He likes to make a mustache and beard with it and then try to lick it off.”

  She made a sound of disgust. “Yes, a raccoon familiar surely comes from your mother’s side of the family.”

  “Philip thinks it’s because I’m powerful,” I said. “He said cats are lazy and selfish and don’t make good familiars.”

  “Philip is lazy and selfish and doesn’t make a good wizard,” my aunt snapped.

  I let her reaction roll right off me. “He seems content not to be a good wizard. In fact—dare I say it—he seems downright happy.”

  “If you think such a life would suit you, feel free to return to New Jersey at your earliest convenience.” Aunt Hyacinth started to walk back through the forest.

  I hurried after her. “You know I have no interest in that. I love it here.”

  She cut a quick glance at me without slowing her pace. “Are you certain? Sometimes I wonder.”

  “How could you wonder? Marley and I have a beautiful home here. I have a good job and an incredible boyfriend.” I drew a breath as I continued to hustle beside her. “And we have family, which we’ve never really had before.”

  When we reached the grounds behind Rose Cottage, she stopped walking and faced me. “Family has always been of the utmost importance to me, Ember. It’s the reason I never stopped searching for you. That’s why the moment the cloaking spell was undone, I was able to find you.”

  “I know.”

  “I would do anything for family and I’d like to think that they would feel the same.”

  I felt like she was getting at something specific, but it was hard to know with Aunt Hyacinth. “Family looks out for each other.”

  “I’m glad we agree on that score.” She hiked up her kaftan and carried on walking.

  “Thank you for your help,” I called after her. I didn’t try to catch up. My aunt clearly had no intention of waiting for me, so I slowed my pace and returned to the cottage to change out of my boots for the beach.

  Raoul practically jumped on me when I entered. How’d it go? Am I a dead raccoon walking?

  “Aunt Hyacinth sorted everything out. I don’t think you’ll get any more grief from Gilbert.”

  Raoul wiped his brow with his paw. For a scary witch, she comes through sometimes.

  Although I agreed, part of me wondered whether my aunt had a more selfish reason for helping out. Our little exchange at the edge of the forest made me think that I was now in the unfortunate position of owing her a favor, and I didn’t want to hazard a guess as to what that favor would be. Aunt Hyacinth was the witch version of Gilbert, except there was no one to bail me out of this one. I was going to owe her sooner or later—I just hoped that when the time came that I could afford the price.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Balefire Beach was awash with paranormals by the time I arrived. Some players were still gaming on their phones, despite the official end of the tournament. Unfortunately, Deputy Bolan was the first familiar face I saw.

  “Hey, Deputy Bolan,” I said. “I guess you’re in charge of crowd control.”

  The leprechaun grimaced. “I wish your cousins had hired a private security service to police the event. Next time, we’ll insist on it.”

  “What’s the problem? You just have to make sure the losers don’t get out of hand. No geek riots.”

  “What’s wrong about getting out of hand?” a slick voice asked.

  I turned to see Wyatt Nash, Linnea’s ex-husband, swaggering toward us.

  “What are you doing here?” The werewolf didn’t strike me as the type to play Wizards Connect.

  Wyatt grinned. “I wouldn’t dream of missing an opportunity to support the community.”

  I cocked a skeptical eyebrow. “You met a gamer girl, didn’t you?”

  “Roxy,” he said. “A gorgeous shifter. Been a long time since I enjoyed a good bear hug.”

  “Somehow I doubt that,” I said.

  He chuckled. “I figured I’d come out here and see if I can help her find a few hot spots, if you know what I mean.”

  Inwardly, I groaned.

  “Don’t start any trouble,” Deputy Bolan said. “Your brother and I have our hands full as it is with a murderer on the loose.”

  “The type of trouble I’m interested in won’t involve the sheriff, only the handcuffs.” Wyatt wiggled his eyebrows suggestively as he moved past us to mingle with the crowd.

  “Where is the sheriff?” I asked.

  “He took the far end of the beach,” the deputy said. “We’re going to meet in the middle and swap in an hour.”

  The sound of Florian’s voice drifted across the beach. “Time for the winner,” I said.

  “That cousin of yours is a big fan of hearing himself talk, isn’t he?” Deputy Bolan said.

  “He’s doing a great job of raising the town’s profile,” I said. “You should give him some credit.”

  “We’re talking about hiring a second deputy,” the leprechaun said. “That’s what happens when you raise a town’s profile.”

  “Are you saying there’s been more crime because the tourism board has managed to bring in more visitors?”


  “The number of minor offenses increases,” he said. “Vandalism. Assaults. A shifter got thrown through the window of Elixir last night after an argument over the game got heated.”

  “It’s not like these events are happening every week,” I said. “Do you really think you need more law enforcement?”

  Deputy Bolan spread his arms wide. “Look at the size of this beach. It’s filled with visitors and Sheriff Nash and I are the only two policing it. If something else happens elsewhere in town, that leaves one of us here. I bet we would’ve caught the killer by now if we weren’t inundated with other duties.”

  “I guess I see your point. Does the town have it in the budget to hire someone? If not, I can speak to my aunt.”

  Deputy Bolan snorted. “You know the sheriff won’t want you to do that.”

  “But she can speak to the rest of the Council of Elders…”

  The leprechaun held up a hand. “It’s our responsibility. We’ll handle it without the influence of a Rose, thank you very much.”

  In the crowd, I noticed Marley with a few of her friends. They were holding up their phones so that the ocean appeared in the background of their screenshots from the game. The sight of them gave me an idea.

  “Deputy, would you mind if I took another look at Clark’s phone?” I asked. “I’m going to the office after this to work on my article and I think it would be helpful to look at some of his screenshots.”

  He hesitated. “I have it, but I don’t want you to lose it. It’s still evidence.”

  “I’m not going to lose it,” I said. “Besides, we can just track it now that we know how.”

  “Good point.” He pulled the phone from his back pocket and handed it to me.

  I turned toward the makeshift stage to watch as Florian and Aster declared the winner.

  “And the winner of the first annual Starry Hollow Wizards Connect tournament is Stuart Mackenzie, the player known as vladtheinhaler,” Florian said.

  Aster held up a trophy that looked like the Emerald Chalice in the game. A nice touch.

  As the vampire climbed onto the stage, I maneuvered closer to the stage for a better view and to take a photo for the paper. I spotted a familiar banshee at the foot of the stage clapping wildly.

  Great popcorn balls of fire. Was Nova his girlfriend? I wasn’t sure which one to feel sorry for. They both seemed pretty awful. I had to admit, I was disappointed that one of the geekier players didn’t win. I would have loved to see obiwandkenobi up there collecting the trophy.

  I waited for Stuart to step down and the players to stop congratulating him before I approached the vampire.

  “Hey, Stuart. Not sure if you remember me. I’m Ember Rose, a reporter for Vox Populi. I’d love to interview you for the article I’m writing.”

  He peered at me. “Front page?”

  “Sure,” I lied. Not like there was anything he could do about it after the fact.

  “In that case, I’d be delighted. I’ll meet you at your office in an hour, then I’m out of here.”

  “That works for me,” I said. He’d better give me some positive quotes about his visit, too, or Florian would have my head.

  I made arrangements for Marley to stay with Florian while I went to the office to prepare. I sat at my desk and clicked through the screenshots of Clark’s achievements prior to the tournament. At first glance, everything seemed intact other than the gold and supplies that had been donated to obiwandkenobi. There was a screenshot of each victory. I recognized the backyard of Palmetto House in one shot and the interior of the Caffeinated Cauldron in another. I even recognized other players in the background. I made a list of each foe he defeated in case to help me craft the article. The vampire. The knife. The dragons. The ogre. When I finally finished the list, I frowned. Where was the magical eel that Philip had mentioned? The secret challenge that Clark had discovered. I scrolled through again. It had to be here. Clark was meticulous about his screenshots.

  After my third review of the screenshots, I admitted defeat. The screenshot with the eel was missing, but why? An idea nagged at me. We’d assumed the killer wanted the phone because of Clark’s prowess, but what if it was unrelated? My pulse raced as I started tapping my way around the phone. If there was something on there the killer didn’t want anyone to see, then he would have deleted it before discarding the phone.

  I needed to see that missing screenshot. I pulled out my wand, ready to do a spell. “Crap,” I said, sinking against my chair. “No magic can be used on the game.”

  Suddenly, I bolted upright. But that didn’t mean magic couldn’t be used on the phone! The screenshot had been deleted and was, therefore, outside the purview of the game. With my heart pounding, I held my wand over the phone. I gathered my energy into a ball and released it. “Restituere,” I said.

  The screen shimmered until an image appeared. I saw the eel first and knew I’d hit the jackpot. This was it. As the image became clearer, I scanned the picture for clues. There was only one image in the background, but it was the only one I needed. Nova was wrong. Her boyfriend wasn’t with a bimbo fairy. She was a bimbo pixie. To be fair, I didn’t know that Shelley was a bimbo at all. Nova’s boyfriend likely lied about his relationship status. It appeared that Psychic Deadpool had been right. Nova and Stuart had no future, unless she planned to continue to date him as he served out his sentence. Some girls were into that.

  I saved the screenshot to photos and attached it in a text addressed to Sheriff Nash. I smiled, imagining the sheriff’s face when he received a text from Clark. I added a quick note just as the door opened and Stuart waltzed in, ready for his closeup. I hit send and slipped the phone into my purse.

  “I’m here for my ten minutes of fame,” he announced.

  “Great,” I said. “Give me one second and I’ll get my questions ready.” I tried to keep my hands from shaking as I began to type on the computer.

  He ambled closer to my desk. “Don’t take too long. My bus leaves in half an hour and I’m not missing it. My girlfriend’s waiting at the station with our bags.”

  Oh no. I couldn’t let him leave town. I had to keep him here until the sheriff arrived. I hoped the sheriff wasn’t too busy with crowd control to check his texts.

  I flashed a wide smile at Stuart. “How does it feel to be a winner?”

  “No different from any other day.” The vampire leaned over my desk, displaying his fangs. “I’m feeling generous in light of my victory. How about I let you rub me for good luck?”

  His arrogance made my blood boil. “The internet is forever,” I said.

  “I wasn’t suggesting that we record it.” His lips curved. “But now that you mention it…”

  Come on, Granger. Look at your phone.

  “I would think you’d be worried about your girlfriend seeing it,” I said. “That was your concern, wasn’t it? That if Clark uploaded his images, Nova would see your canoodling session with the pixie.”

  His expression hardened. “I don’t know what you mean.”

  I rolled back my chair to put distance between us. “I think you know exactly what I mean.”

  His body tensed. “You recovered the screenshot?”

  I tried to maintain a casual air, despite the knot in my stomach. “Look, I can see the attraction. Her voice is far more tolerable than Nova’s.”

  “The sound of dolphins mating is more tolerable than Nova’s voice.”

  Well, there was a mental image I didn’t expect to have today. “Why not break up with her? Why bring her to the tournament at all?” I asked.

  “You think I didn’t want to leave her behind? You have no idea what she’s like.” He began to pace back and forth in front of my desk. “The banshee is psychotic. She once threatened to bury me in a sealed coffin if she ever caught me cheating. I can only imagine what she’d do if I broke up with her.”

  “Does Shelley know you’re here with your girlfriend?”

  “Shelley doesn’t need to know. It’s not
like I intend to see her after I leave Starry Hollow.”

  “You didn’t know her before the tournament?”

  “No, I met her the night we arrived after Nova had gone to bed,” he said. “I made plans to play with her during the game because I knew Nova would be occupied elsewhere.”

  The vampire’s cowardice was unreal. “So Clark had to die because you were too chicken to do the right thing?”

  Stuart stopped and looked at me. “I didn’t intend to kill him. I only wanted him to delete the screenshot so that it didn’t end up on social media. As you said, the internet is forever and Clark always shared his screenshots. It was something he was known for.”

  “So you went to see him early Saturday morning?” I asked.

  “I knew where he was staying. I’d tried to get a reservation there myself as it was clearly one of the better inns in town. I wanted to take care of the screenshot before the tournament began so that I wasn’t distracted.”

  “But Clark refused?”

  “Not only did he refuse, he thought it would be amusing to post the picture in the tournament chat room. He started tapping his screen and laughing.” The vampire’s nostrils flared. “I picked up the nearest object and hit him before he could finish.”

  “You didn’t kill Clark to remove the competition,” I said quietly.

  He laughed. “No. Funny how life works out, isn’t it?”

  Hilarious. “Nova isn’t interested in the game though,” I said. “How would she have seen the screenshot?”

  “Trust me, she’d see it. I’ve caught her stalking friends’ accounts, just to see if I’m hiding anything from her.” He drew a circle in the air next to his ear. “She’s loco.”

  Slowly, I slid my hand toward my purse in an effort to reach my wand without drawing his attention. “Why did you donate the gold to obiwandkenobi’s account?”

  Stuart threw his head back and laughed harder. “Because the name is ridiculous. That poor sop needed a little excitement in his life, and I was only too happy to provide it.”

  “It wasn’t personal then? You didn’t have an issue with Patton?”

  “No, I don’t even know him. It was simply an easy way to deflect attention from me. Then I left the phone in the bushes near the ash tree because it was a hot spot with plenty of foot traffic. I knew someone would pick it up and leave their dirty prints all over it.”