Sam snorted. “A cousin who can shift into a tiger.”
I waved him off and pulled the girl to a stand. She was only a couple of inches shorter than me. “Semantics.” We started walking to Drew’s SUV, but I stopped and turned to Zoey. “How old are you?”
“Eighteen, I think. I might be off a year or two, but I’m pretty sure it’s eighteen.” She glanced from me to the others as if unsure.
I started walking again. “Sounds good to me. let’s go home. I’m exhausted.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Saturday night, the truth serum was ready. We would finally be able to find out who cursed their fellow witches into accidental deaths. So I stayed up late sending letters to all the coven members to invite them over to my house for an informal meet and greet the following afternoon.
Sunday morning Drew, Sam, Olivia, Owen, and I sat down and made a plan and got everything prepared for the guests to arrive.
The coven arrived at noon. Owen and I made sure to be late. Around five after twelve, we came hurrying out of the woods. “I’m so sorry,” I called, scanning the people on my porch and thrilled to find every living coven member had arrived.
Nobody wanted to miss the news about the shifters, which was my little hook to get them there. Especially the killer who would come if it was just a social gathering. Besides, the guilty party likely figured we’d gotten it wrong since we hadn’t arrested anyone or accused anyone thus far.
And thus the desperate need for information.
“Please, come in.” I opened the door to find Alfred and Larry waiting expectantly, each holding a tray of drinks. Zoey sat in an oversized bean bag close to the fireplace reading a book. I motioned to her. “This is Zoey, my cousin on my dad’s side of the family.”
She gave them a small wave as Snooze stalked into the room and climbed on the bean bag with her, flopping down in her lap.
Several of the members nodded to her. She was good at keeping her gaze down enough to seem like she was looking at you without you noticing her cat eyes unless you stared at her long enough. Which Bevan did.
I stepped in front of Bevan, cutting off his line of sight. “Sit, drink, and give us just a minute to freshen up and we’ll be right down.” It was the same thing we’d done last time, but this time we’d carefully planned it.
We rushed upstairs and peeked down at the crowd as they settled into chairs, taking sandwiches and glasses of tea, water, or lemonade from Alfred. “We have to give them time to drink,” I whispered.
A few minutes later, Owen nodded. “I think they’ve all had at least a sip,” he said. “One drop is all it takes.”
“Let’s go.”
We headed downstairs and stood at the living room door. “Thanks again for coming. I thought you all deserved to be apprised of the situation.”
Everyone’s attention was on me, all of them quiet, all of them expectant.
“Now,” I said and clapped my hands together. It was Drew and Sam’s signal to bring Penny out.
Everyone gasped as they walked from the kitchen, where they’d been waiting just out of sight, with the spelled Penny between them. We’d put a bubble around her before we left so that nobody outside the ward could hear her at all.
“Penny, please, sit.” I motioned for the only remaining chair in the room. “Have a glass of tea.”
I’d warned Drew not to let her have anything to eat or drink this morning. So she was thirsty.
She gulped down a glass of tea as she perched nervously on the end of the chair.
“Lovely,” I said. The coven stared at Penny with mixed reactions of horror, suspicion, and sympathy. “Everyone, your attention here, please. Would anyone that had anything at all to do with the shifter fighting ring please stand?”
Most of the coven just looked startled, but immediately, Penny and Bevan Magnus rose to their feet. As did Melody Gonzales and Cade Duran, two of the quieter, more reserved coven members. I hadn’t gotten a read on them either way before now.
Owen and I activated the ward waiting for us. Anyone who had guilt in their heart and had drunk our potion, which had combined truth serum with the guilt potion wouldn’t be able to leave.
“If anyone else has any knowledge at all of the shifter fighting rings, something you knew before we broke this open, please stand.”
Joely Travis stood.
“Wow,” Olivia whispered. “That’s insane.”
“Indeed,” Drew said. “Everyone else, please head to your homes. Thank you for your help.”
“It’s all her fault,” Bevan cried, pointing to Penny. “She’s a psychopath!”
“Which of you is the murderer?” I asked.
Bevan slammed his lips shut and his face began to turn colors. First pink, then red, then purple. Sinking into his chair, he began to sob. “She’s my sister,” he gasped. “She’s been running the shifter ring. She ran it with her husband.”
I gasped, staring at Penny. “Is this true?” I couldn’t imagine her and Billy being this devious.
She hung her head but didn’t answer.
“What about the murders?” I asked. I had to be the one to ask the questions since I’d brewed the potion.
Bevan moaned, ran his chubby hand through his brown hair, and finally, he spoke again. “It’s me,” he whispered. “Billy figured it out. I was getting rid of anyone who crossed me, and he bound my ability to take a life for years… decades. I don’t know where he got a spell like that, but I couldn’t kill anyone. But when he died, it all came back to me.” He grunted, trying hard to fight the compulsion to tell the truth. “All my power, unrestricted.”
I moved back a few steps as his face twisted in a perverse pleasure. His brown eyes darkened.
“My mother?” I whispered.
He stopped grinning and looked me in the eye. The room went quiet as Bevan sucked in a deep breath. “Your mother found out I was Penny’s brother. She kept sticking her damn nose in where it wasn’t wanted.” A little piece of spittle flew from his mouth.
Fury raced through my blood, hot and ready to zap the snot out of him. Magic I didn’t know I possessed pooled in the palms of my hand. Drew stepped up behind me, placed his hands on my shoulders, and whispered, “He’s not worth wasting your magic on.”
He was right. Leaning back against him, I calmed my emotions as the truth settled in.
Bevan killed my mom. Stole her from me. The magic tingled my fingers, ready to unleash. Just then, Drew kissed my temple and the raging current settled down. A little.
“The coin was all too easy to slip into her pocket. After that, I just had to wait for the curse to do its job. A lightning strike?” He laughed, the deep sound pounding against my eardrums, freaking me out since he didn’t actually smile or look away from me. “Hers was a particularly…” he paused and sucked in a deep breath. “Delicious kill.”
Drew stepped around me, but I held my hand up to stop him. I had a grip on my magic now. Walking toward the man who killed my mother, I bent in front of him and leaned forward, not at all scared he might hurt me. I whispered words only for the murderer. “I hope you live a long time in prison, Magnus. Because the moment you die, you will belong to me.”