“God, yes. We should get back out there.”
“What about your shirt?”
“It’s just water. Better than blood, right?”
I raise my eyebrows. “Yeah, for sure.” Actually needing to use the bathroom, I meet Sam in the hall when I’m done and we go back into the conference room. Ethan flicks his eyes to me, and I see the worry in his expression. No one else would have noticed it, but I know him well enough to see the minute bit of worry on his handsome face.
“Are there any similarities between Rodger and Hector?” David asks as he scribbles something down on a piece of paper.
“Nothing that immediately stands out,” Carl says. “We are working with their next of kin to go over everything, trying to find something. Though, I would bet this witch is taking out any hunter she can.”
Bad things can happen when you jump to conclusions, and that is exactly what everyone is doing right now. Taking a steadying breath, I open my folder again and go over the case reports. It seems like Rodger was a mediocre hunter at best, taking on smaller cases and usually working with others. He hadn’t been assigned anything in a while before he went missing. Hector, the hunter who was found on the shore, was older and more experienced, and favored more occult-related jobs. The last three jobs he took were in response to some sort of ritual, and the last was a small farming town sacrificing lost travelers to what they called a pagan god in exchange for abundant crops.
Was he hoping to stop witches, hating them like the other hunters?
I don’t know, nor will I, and more importantly, it doesn’t matter. Because he’s dead and gone and I know a witch didn’t kill him. It’s more likely a non found some sort of ritual on the web and tried carrying it out, thinking they’d be gifted magical powers in exchange for a human sacrifice. It wouldn’t be the first time something like that happened, though it probably is the first time the victim is a member of the Order of the Mystic Realm.
Doing my best not to show any sort of reaction, I space out, which is rather easy for me to do. Granted, most of the time I’m not trying to come up with a way to prevent an unnecessary arrest and ultimate murder of an innocent witch. I focus on sketching out a rough plan for my soon-to-be-built barn, coming up with different ways to arrange things.
I’m incredibly excited for it and I’m positive this is the most expensive thing I’ll ever buy. The barn will have ten stalls, wash-rack with added heat lamps so I can bathe my horses year-round, a large tack room, a separate feed room, and an attached indoor arena. The whole thing will be heated, keeping the barn around forty-five degrees in the winter which is just warm enough that the horses won’t need winter blankets or heated water buckets. The heat is more for my comfort than the horses since they adapt and will be fine. My previous boarding barn was heated, and I very much took it for granted.
By the time I’ve entered full day-dream mode, thinking about going to an auction and rescuing a horse before it’s sold to slaughter, Ethan gently nudges my foot with his. Blinking, I look around and notice everyone else is putting their papers in their folders.
“Are we done?” I mouth.
“For now,” he mouths back. I cough again as I get to my feet, feeling the burn in my chest rise to my throat.
“It’s not often I get my family together in one piece,” David starts. “A family dinner is overdue. Steph, join us.”
Stephanie’s mouth opens only to snap shut again and she nods. Right. David is her elder in the Order and she needs to listen to him.
“We’ll reconvene at nine PM tonight,” Carl tells us. “Sleeping arrangements have been made for you all already. A room has been prepared for you women on the second level.”
“Wait, what?” I ask, certain I didn’t hear him right. We’re staying the night and I’m not allowed to be with my boyfriend—whom I live with?
“There is much to be done,” Carl tells me, face grave. “And here at the Order, we uphold our values and keep unmarried couples separated.”
I would say I’m surprised, but I’m not. By the grace of God, I’m able to keep my mouth shut as we get our coats on, go down the elevator, and make it a block away.
“The fuck?” I blurt, stopping short and looking at Ethan. “I’m not staying here tonight. Neither are you. I want to go home to our house and sleep in our bed and wake up and take care of our animals. Together.”
“Why, so you can sacrifice another hunter?” Stephanie asks, whirling around.
Ethan growls angrily and jolts forward but is stopped by his father.
“Enough,” David says, glaring at Stephanie. We’re on a busy Chicago sidewalk and people are passing us by, paying no notice to what’s going on.
“You all knew, didn’t you?” Stephanie is looking at the entire Bailey family like they’re now the enemy. “You knew she was a witch this whole time and hid it on purpose. Just wait until the Order—”
“You will do no such thing.” David’s eyes flash, jaw set.
“Hear me out,” Julia starts, holding up her hands in an attempt to be a peacemaker. “Anora didn’t even know she was a witch until a few months ago, okay? She’s not a danger and she certainly wouldn’t hurt anyone.”
“She can do fire magic. I saw it,” Stephanie scoffs.
“And that fire magic saved your ass,” Ethan retorts. “Mine too.”
“Look,” I begin “I get it. You were told witches were bad from the start and you’re being careful. But I can promise you, we’re not evil. We don’t get our powers from dark sources and most of us just want to simply exist without dealing with demons or hunters or anything of the sort.”
“Give her a chance,” Sam relents. “I was in your shoes until recently. But Anora…she checks out.” Sam sighs and rolls her eyes.
A few beats pass before Stephanie speaks again. “How did you not know you were a witch until recently?”
“It’s kinda a long story,” I say.
“One best told over dinner,” David urges. “And drinks. Lots of drinks.”
I set down my glass of white wine, regretting drinking any of it. My head is already spinning from congestion which feels even worse from the alcohol. Rubbing my temples, I lean back, unable to eat anymore.
“It’s called pyrokinesis,” Ethan explains. He hasn’t liked giving up information about me, but it’s what we need to do in order to win Stephanie over.
“Sounds dangerous.” Stephanie cuts into her deep-dish pizza with a knife and fork.
“It can be,” I admit. “But I’m careful.”
“As you can be,” Stephanie huffs.
“Isn’t that how you are with anything?” Ethan counters. “Nothing is foolproof, as you very well know.”
Stephanie drops her knife and stabs a piece of pizza with her fork, glaring at Ethan. “I’m aware.”
“Bottom line,” David says, unfolding a napkin. “Anora is innocent in all this. Whatever killed Hector is still out there and that is where we need to focus our attention.”
“Right.” Stephanie forces a smile and goes back to eating her pizza. “I just still don’t see how you can trust her. She’s a fucking witch.”