Her family? Edgy, I shifted my weight. “You knew her?” Strange how the dark witch court would know a random human by name. Maybe she was a friend to the witch community. It wouldn’t be the first time a human and witch alliance was formed. Usually the human wanted to become a witch. I didn’t blame them. Witches were awesome.
My eyes darted back to the victim and I thought about the horrible death she probably suffered at the hands of that vampire. With that kind of powerful magic and strength, this poor human female had no way of escaping. I swallowed the bile rising at the back of my throat.
And yet, the vampire had let me live...
“She looks like a dried-up prune,” noted Poe, a hint of concern in his voice. “Must have been painful.”
“Very.” I looked up and met Darius’s eyes. “Okay, so we can all agree a vampire did this,” I said and stepped away from the gurney, my hands on my hips. “I still don’t understand why you called me here and why the dark witch court is involved. If there’s a rogue vampire killing off humans, you should contact the vampire court. Let them deal with this.”
“Because,” said the head of the witch court, the wrinkles around his eyes deepening with anger, “a vampire is killing our own.”
It was warm in the theater, but I felt a shiver roll up my spine, magnified by the sudden stillness of the room.
The vampire was killing witches? Oh, hell no.
Again, the room descended into a chaos of shouts and wails and arguments with Tran the loudest of them all. The witches stirred, leaving most of the noise to be swallowed up by the space.
Darius leaned back in his chair, letting the witches fuss a little more, and then, “Order!” he called out in a ringing voice as he slammed his hand hard on the table.
Silence.
Impressive. I wish I knew how to control a room like that.
Frowning, I blinked slowly at Darius. “She’s a witch?” My head whipped back to the dead woman, the dead witch. It was impossible to differentiate witch from human now. There was no substance to her anymore. No blood. No essence. No magic. I couldn’t sense the witch energies that all witches were born with. Not anymore.
“She was a witch,” interjected Tran, a slant to his eyes. “She’s dead now.”
“No shit,” I said, wondering if the other victim had also been a witch.
Darius’s lips moved but no sound came out at first. “This is the fifth victim,” said Darius after a moment. “We found Emma’s body in an alley just last night.”
I’m so sorry, Emma. I met the old male witch’s eyes. “And you’re sure all the victims are witches?”
“I’m afraid so, yes,” he answered and I stifled a flinch as he answered my question. “And they were all dark witches.”
My stomach was a flurry of emotion—anger, doubt, fear, and regret. I was angry at myself, thinking if I had moved a little quicker, I might have saved Emma’s life. I feared an old vampire powerful enough to kill off witches, and finally I regretted I hadn’t said anything.
Would Audrey still be alive if I had contacted the court about Emma?
My emotions were all mixed together until I felt as if I was going to throw up. A quiver went through me. If an old vampire was targeting witches, there had to be a reason. Why would a vampire go after a witch who could fight back with powerful spells and hexes when an easier, weaker human was right there for the taking? It didn’t make any sense. Why was the vampire targeting witches?
My eyes flicked up to Darius. “What does the Gray Council think about this?”
“They don’t know,” answered the old male witch, his face wrinkling in a deep frown. “We want to keep this between us witches. We would appreciate your... discretion in this matter.”
“Yeah, right,” muttered Poe.
Darius moved his gaze along the members of his court before settling back on me. “We don’t want a mass panic. If word got out that a vampire was killing witches, well...”
“All hell would break loose,” I offered, knowing the panic it would cause within the witch community. Let’s not forget the tension and animosity it would create between the vampires and the witches if the dark witch court accused the vampires. It would get ugly. And then there’d be a war. Shit, this was really bad.
“Quite right,” said the old witch as he shifted in his seat. His face was partly cast in shadow, adding a new layer of grotesqueness to the scar on his face. “Which is why we couldn’t risk sending you a messenger pigeon with the detailed information.”
“Right.”
“The relations between the witches and vampires have been on good terms for over a hundred years,” continued Darius. “Before we can make any accusations or even bring this to the attention of the vampire court, we need to be certain. We need to be absolutely sure. Without a doubt. So you see, Samantha. We need to keep this quiet. The fewer who know what’s going on—the better.”
I took a breath. “Yes, I get it.” I was already involved, whether I liked it or not.
But something didn’t settle well with me. If the vampire was targeting witches, why hadn’t he killed me?
I looked to the stage, my eyes traveling over the members. “What exactly do you want me to do?”
“To track and kill it,” commanded the bald female witch, surprising me. Her voice was harsh and cold like a winter storm.
I gave the old witch a knowing smile. “Okay, then.” So, this was about a hunt.
“Ask them for a pay raise,” said the bird, and I had to agree with him on that.
Darius cleared his throat. “There are rules about this sort of thing, Magda,” he said, a hint of warning in his tone. “We can’t go around killing vampires,” he added. The name rang a bell as I remembered reading it from the note sent with Tank. The bald witch was the dark witch court’s secretary. Magda Ratson.
Magda bared her three teeth. “Do you see this vampire following any rules? It’s killing witches.” She pointed to Audrey’s dried out corpse. “Five dead already. How long do you want us to wait before more witches are killed? And I’m not the only one here who wants to see its head on a plate.”
At that, the other witches all mumbled their consensus, all apart from Tran and Darius. Interesting.
Once the members quieted, Darius’s scarred face turned towards me. “Samantha. The court would like you to find this vampire—”
“Make it disappear, Samantha,” barked the old witch Magda, her eyes fierce and determined. I was starting to like her.
Nothing like shoving vampire bodies under the rug. “No problem.”
Darius’s posture shifted to one of nervousness. “The court would appreciate your silence on this matter.” He looked to Poe, and a ribbon of fear slid behind his eyes before he mastered it. “I would like your word that your familiar won’t spread stories. We all know ravens are fond of tales.”
“Bite me, you old fart,” muttered Poe.
“I promise,” I said loudly, hoping to hide the bird’s voice. “He can keep his mouth shut.”
“No I can’t,” said the bird.
“Shut it, Poe,” I warned.
“So, that’s it?” exclaimed Tran. “You’re just going to give her the job?” he yelled, stirring the witches into a buzzing murmur.