83
Matt
We walked downstairs and opened the door. There was a group of official-looking people accompanied with a tall, willowy woman who smelled like chamomile and wore a lot of yellow. There were a bunch of flowers in her hair. She looked more like a nymph from human mythology than a witch. She looked around with wide eyes as her two companions looked at us.
“We’re here on behalf of the Council and the Inter-Species Liaison.”
Each of them extended a thick envelope toward us.
“You’re being charged with several criminal charges, including human trafficking and deadly assault, on the human and the supernatural side. We’re here to bolster your human and supernatural representation against the organization pressing charges against you.”
I grimaced.
“What human organization?” Tony asked.
“Liberation Front.”
I had never heard of them. I took the envelope offered to me. His eyes narrowed.
“And the supernatural charges?”
“Several counts of assault and related human trafficking charges.”
I looked at Tony as his jaw set. He took the envelope that was offered to him.
“And you?” I asked looking at the woman. She blinked.
“I’m leading the investigation,” she giggled. “So strange to hear myself sound so official.”
Tony stepped back. “Come in. Our beta will speak with you two about the charges as they are right now and put you in contact with the pack lawyers. We’ll join you shortly.”
Our beta led them away and the woman stepped inside as a small team of other people got out of the car and followed her.
She let out a low whistle.
“Never been inside an actual den before…” she said and hummed. “You all could really deal with some better security. I can’t believe Eve is living like this and feels safe…”
She covered her mouth. “Oh, well, I supposed if she did feel safe, there probably wouldn’t be an assault case on the docket…”
Tony glowered at her. “Do you have any sense of what not to say.”
She blinked and tilted her head. “Do you? You’re still under a binding spell. I could make it permanent.”
My eyes bulged, looking between the two of them.
She beamed. “So… are we going to get this underway?”
Tony turned and growled. “This way.”
She took a few more steps inside before she looked up the center staircase and stopped.
She shook her head. “I’m not going up there.”
Tony’s eyes narrowed. I went still hoping that this wasn’t going to turn into a fight. Why did they send this crazy witch of all people?
“What?”
“I’m not going up there,” she shuddered. “There’s nothing good up there.”
I frowned and looked up the center staircase before looking back at her. Tony was half way up the staircase. As far as I could see and smell, there wasn’t much up there. Our scents were still there, but there wasn’t even a lingering scent of poison.
“What do you mean by that?”
“Poison.” She wrinkled her nose. “Well, not exactly. It’s pretty poisonous to people with magic at least. I’d basically be signing up to being very sick for a long time… or dead.”
I looked at Tony, who narrowed his eyes at her. He came down the stairs, prowling towards her. She didn’t seem afraid, and I could tell if that was a good thing or not.
“People with magic?” I said slowly. “What do you mean by that?”
She blinked. “Exactly what I said.”
Tony growled, and she looked at him with wide eyes. “Ooh… you’re on the edge, aren’t you? Fascinating, I’ve never met a pure Blue Moon wolf… You’re what? Almost thirty?”
I clenched my jaw. “What do you mean when you say people with magic? Werewolves…don’t have magic.”
She frowned and then sighed.
“Right all that Moon Goddess nonsense. I really forget how undereducated werewolves are—”
“You—”
“Every supernatural creature has some form of magic. Yours just happens to be related to moonlight. If you ingested or inhaled enough of that poison lingering up there, you’d be sick, at least. I’d suggest you open a window.”
She hummed. “Whoever administered really had no idea what they were doing, leaving it everywhere like that.”
She shook her head. “Or… who ever gave it to them was counting on their ignorance and expected the whole pack to die.”
She shrugged. “Not my job to figure that out. I’m not a mind reader.”
“Die?” I growled.
She nodded. “Well, eventually. Not like wolfsbane and silver in your bloodstream, though there’s still a pretty good chance of survival with that if you treat it properly. This poison is a bit more—Eve!”
She squealed and pushed past me and Tony to throw her arms around the doctor who laughed and embraced her tightly.
“Honestly, you? I didn’t call you for a reason.”
“Oh please, you just wanted to make them squirm,” she cupped her face. “You’re okay, right? You know certain parties won’t be happy until they know for certain.”
She laughed. “I’m just fine.”
She pouted. “Fine.”
She stepped back and turned back to us. “As I was saying, werewolves don’t have the right kind of magic or enough of it per se to end up dead immediately, but you’d be pretty weak. If you took it directly, it would definitely feel like death, but it wouldn’t kill you.”
I felt Tony’s relief wash through our bond. I didn’t see how this information made it better, but I was glad that he was relaxing.
“Could you find out where someone has been taken?” Tony asked.
She blinked. “Probably? How were they taken?”
“We don’t know,” Tony said softly. “She was taken from an event, but before that, she was taken from within a locked room here.”
She nodded, looking up towards the top of the center staircase. “That would explain that.”
“Explain what?”
She gestured above Tony’s head. “All that other lingering stuff. Got to say it’s a shame you can’t smell spell work. It would be really helpful, wouldn’t it?”
She shrugged and wrinkled her nose. “Well, never fear. The spell isn’t that strong. I assume you found her pretty close.”
Tony growled. “She was over a hundred miles away! How is that not far?”
She blinked, and her cheeks turned pink. “Sorry, I forget you all… Well… For witches, it’s not far.”
The doctor snorted. “Try not to drive them crazy, Morri’, I have work.”
“Bye, Eve!” Morrigan waved. She turned back and looked at Tony. “If you’re looking for Lucy Graves, I can search for her.”
Relief almost knocked me down. The sooner we found Lucy, the sooner we could get her and bring her home.
“Do you have something of hers I could use maybe? Something she’s owned for at least a few months.”
I wanted to say yes. Tony hustled up the stairs and came back with clothing. She cocked an eyebrow.
“Let me rephrase that, something she cared about?”
He looked down at the pile of clothing and dropped it all on the floor.
It seemed like we grabbed everything that was in her room, but none of it was good enough. The auction had nothing, and we threw away the dress that she had been auctioned in. My shoulders slumped and I felt Tony’s frustration mounting.
“Even without that, can you give us a general direction? Something? Anything?”
She worried her lip and shifted her weight. She looked down at the floor and worried her lip as she gripped the strap of her bag.
“I can try.”
“Thank you.”
“Though… it might be easier to find who made the spell in the first place…”
Tony went still and his eyes narrowed. “We find Lucy first. We’ll pay you for your time and whatever else is required for the rest of the investigation.”
She shrugged and took a seat at the table with the doctor. She pulled out a scroll and set four stones on top of it, on in each cardinal direction before pulling out another large clear stone.
By the Goddess, I hope it worked. I looked over at Tony who leaned on the back of a chair, staring at the paper and stones as if he would be able to read it just as fast as the witch could.
I took a seat and decided to watch because there was nothing else I could really do.
The paper didn’t show anything as the stone continued to move. Then, it stopped, but nothing appeared on the paper. Her eyes were full of light, and she smiled.
“Found her,” she said. “Miss Lucy Graves is perfectly safe, healthy… I daresay she’s happy too.”
“Well, where is she?” I asked.
“I can’t tell you that,” she said.
Tony growled. “Why not?”
She laughed. “Because she’s under Council protection from the people who bought her from an auction and held her captive.”
She smiled. “The only reason I’m giving you anything is because you did technically have guardianship over her for a time. You’re allowed to know if she’s okay, but that’s all.”
Tony turned bright red and he put his fist through her map before walking off.
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