Detective Witch (Devil's Witch Book 2)
Chapter 17-Twisted Truths

With a yawn, I pause my movie to grab a snack over in the kitchen. It’s freezing cold in here and I even had the floor heater by my feet on the couch. Groggily, I rip open a packet of hot chocolate mix and dump it in a mug. After mixing some water in it, I lazily mutter a spell to warm it up not feeling like using the microwave.

I drag my feet over to the other side of the kitchen and pull open a cabinet. Finding a box of unopened cookies, I smile and help myself to a handful of the sweets. Well, might as well take the box with me over to the couch. I pull my blanket around me tighter and hug the cookie box and hot chocolate to my chest as I make my way back to the couch.

I indulge in my food for about a half hour and when the movie ends, I flip through the other channels. I’m procrastinating. I might as well get ready to leave now since I can’t find anything else to watch.

My phone buzzes and I pick it up.

Hey! Don’t worry about picking me up, Colin was in town and offered me a ride. I read Stella’s text. I’m kind of glad I don’t have to pick her up. Now I can do something else instead.

I fold my blanket and set it back down on the couch, looking at my long gray sweater and black skinny jeans. Then I go upstairs and tidy up my appearance, leaving my hair down. I grab my long black hooded coat and pull the hood over my head to cover my hair. Then I grab my black sunglasses too and put them on.

When I go back downstairs, I pick up my tote and broom with my mind decided. I’m going to have to fly over to the graveyard, they finally ended the no-fly zone and I’ve been spotting a couple coven members already embracing the eco-friendly and free form of travel. I really don’t like flying on this thing anymore, it immediately marks me as one of them. I drove a long way to get the car inspection done though and just rather use my broom for convenience.

I told myself I would visit my parents’ graves today before it gets even colder out. So I walk out the front door and lock it behind me.

"Volare mecum." I whisper, watching my broom levitate off the ground in satisfaction.

Warily, I look both ways down the street. A group of kids point at me with excitement seeing my broom float and I sigh heavily, settling over top it before they come running up here and asking for a ride. I can’t be held responsible if one of them were to fall off and get hurt, not that’d I let them on anyway.

“Look!” One of the younger tweens shouts in my direction looking excited and pointing at me. I take off from the front porch watching her and her group of friends get smaller as I reach the height just above the house. I soar a couple feet higher, reaching the height most witches fly at.

With a grimace, I stiffly wave down at them and toss a bag of candy down. Hoping they’ll leave me alone or at least, not think me one of the crazed coven members.

“Bye now...” I mutter, watching them run after the candy with glee. A small smile forms on my face and I quickly focus my magic on the direction I want my broom to go in.

Leaning forward, I open the GPS app on my phone and follow its directions voiced through an overly joyful sounding feminine tone. To avoid having to fly over the busy town center like the GPS wants me to, I fly over the woods behind our neighborhood and out onto a back road.

“Make a legal U-turn.” The GPS tells me and I ignore it. It keeps wanting me to go right through town and won’t keep quiet about it. I hover over a vacant gas station and let it do its rerouting thing. Finally, it points directions in the way I want to go and so I keep flying. It’s so cold up here, no wonder I haven’t passed anyone else flying by broom. My teeth chatter and I grip my broomstick handle tighter as I descend downward, reaching my destination.

More gracefully than normal, I hop off my broom. I stare at my parents’ gravestones for a moment, their faces cross my vision and feeling choked up already, I take the flowers from my tote and lay them down in front of their gravestones.

“I’m not really sure when we’ll meet again, but I miss you both. I’m not sure what I’m supposed to do, maybe you’re disappointed in me...” I begin to whisper.

“I have a job now and I’m earning a living, trying my best to handle things as they are. I’m sorry for the days I forget about you, I promise I’m trying my best not to forget your smiles and encouragement. Well, anyway, the town is finally starting to change for the best. I’d think you’d both be happy with it.” I finish saying with a sniffle.

The wind is cold and spreads my tears across my face. Hastily, I wipe them away and adjust my sunglasses. Then I walk down the hill a little bit, passing Patty’s gravestone too. It’s lit up in all its glory, surrounded by her prized possessions she collected in her life stored in a huge warded glass box. The coven deemed them not necessary for her daughter to keep.

There’s handcrafted beautiful gemstone jewelry. Oak and birch wooden carved bowls with marble and turquoise. Glasses and vases made of multiple colors, some still filled with her secret potions she kept to herself. In the center of it all, her family’s spellbook that Stella also never got. It should have been passed down to her, but she didn’t have any say since family spellbooks fall under the coven’s ownership as a way to regulate the types of spells going around.

My case was the same, but Will helped me unbind the ward so I could have it to keep. I already know most of the spells in it by heart-there aren’t many.

I straddle my broomstick and head skyward once more, passing over the same gas station ten minutes later. Another ten minutes goes by and I’m back home. The sun already is dipping below the horizon.

When I get inside the house, I lock the door and leave my broom and coat in the closet.

Then I fold some laundry and clean the living room up a little. When the doorbell rings I put my duster on the coffee table and frown knowing my black mascara and eyeliner is still smudged from crying. My white hair still is messy from blowing around in the wind earlier too.

I hope it’s Stella, I really didn’t want to be home alone tonight anyway.

I peek through the window curtains and then jump back seeing a group of coven members standing on the porch. There must be six or seven of them.

“Come out!” I hear one of them yell after banging their fist on the door.

Luckily, they give up when I don’t answer and leave without trying anything. I don’t quit watching them though until they all pile up in their black SUV and drive off. My heart still racing, I call Will to make sure he knows.

He picks up after the third ring.

“Will! I thought you called a meeting tonight? They were here.” I breathe out quickly, checking out the window again to make sure they didn’t change their mind and decide to come back.

“Hi, this is Beth, Mr. McCaster’s assistant speaking. May I take a message?” A woman tells me and my face turns red. Why does she have his phone?

“Uh, um, no. Sorry.” I mumble before hanging up.

He must have had to leave the room, leaving her with his phone. I didn’t want to share my panic with her, not knowing her stance with the legend and me.

I try calling Stella, but she doesn’t pick up and I try calling a second time. Still no answer.

Well, I’m an adult and don’t need babysitting. To distract myself from my worries I go up to my room and pick out a nail polish. Hmm, black will have to do. Matches my mood too so even better.

By the time my nails are done drying it’s near one in the morning. What am I still doing up? I should be sleeping now like a normal person, not freaking out about what Will is doing and why he didn’t answer the phone or call me back yet.

I hear the doorbell ring again and glance out my bedroom window. The street below is lit up in flashes of red and blue lights. Our neighbor, Ms. Gritter, is talking to a group of police officers standing out on her lawn. She holds something in her hands and shakes it angrily.

I rush downstairs not caring that I look like a wreck, she’s an elderly woman and is a little out of touch with reality. This reeks of the coven and I clench my fists marching outside.

Another officer cuts across my yard going in the direction of their vehicle.

“Officer?” I ask warily and they stop and turn.

“Ms. Parway.” Nick greets me stepping under the street light, his attention on a nearby police car. He stops short by its passenger door. The window rolls down revealing the face of one of the coven members who hours ago was here knocking on my door.

He says something to her in a quiet voice and I can’t hear anything. She flinches away at whatever he says though and the window rolls back up.

Silently, he walks back to Ms. Gritter and the elderly woman gives him a weak hug. If she knew he was a vampire she’d probably have a heart attack and die. Still, it’s heartwarming to watch him pat her back looking awkward, but trying to be polite. She pushes her walker back into her house still sobbing though and my anger simmers at the coven.

They came back here and tried breaking into her house! They probably scared her half to death. They must have thought they were at the wrong house and came back. Ms. Gritter probably responded and once they heard someone home they took their chances.

“They came to my house. What did they want with Ms. Gritter?” I ask with worry, meeting Nick by the police car.

“They wanted you.” Nick replies in his slow southern drawl while tapping the hood of the car. It pulls away, someone else driving the witch back to the station for her interrogation.

All of the other cops follow it, leaving me here with him.

“Broke into her home and once they realized you weren’t her, they tried robbing her on the way out. We got her 911 call in time.” Nick explains while writing something down on a small notepad and then placing it into the pocket of his black police jacket.

“I could have prevented-” I begin to say.

“No, you couldn’t have. Stop blaming yourself for the coven’s actions.” He tells me gently, but I shake my head in disbelief.

We walk up to the porch together and absentmindedly, I grab the door handle and turn it. I don’t really mind his company, but when he stops at the door I’m kind of hoping he comes in and also kind of hoping not. He’s still my boss and I’m still kind of shook from when I watched him kill the warlock.

I don’t want to be alone though, not after the witches broke into Ms. Gritter’s house.

When Nick disappears and my front door shuts, I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding.

I know he doesn’t want to babysit me. I need to be here alone, I’m glad I didn’t ask him to stay. I’m an adult now and I know enough spells to protect myself if the witches get in here. If I’m sleeping though, they’ll have a greater chance at catching me off guard is all.

I open up the coat closet and shrug off my jacket, hanging it up. Then I turn towards the front door to lock it. However, it flys open and I jump back when it slams shut, locking by way of his magic.

“Woah!” I holler seeing Nick reappear a foot in front of me.

“I checked the house and surrounding homes. Your back door was unlocked so I locked it. Also, you should keep your windows closed upstairs.” He says lightly in a tight voice as if I should have known to do those things.

“Oh...” I say feeling flustered by his nearness and stepping back into the living room. He scans the entirety of the downstairs and walks past me to the kitchen window, he looks out it into the backyard. Then he shuts it swiftly.

Looking cautious, he speaks something into his radio then attaches it back onto his belt loop.

“Can we talk?” He asks suddenly in a quiet voice and I nod my head, grasping my arm anxiously. I meet him over by the kitchen counter and he peers out the window above the kitchen sink again as if making sure no one’s there.

Then, with a deep sigh, he lifts up his police hat and combs his fingers through his hair. When he places his hat back down he looks at me.

“A month ago, Will made a poor decision. I left it to him to make things right with you and his coven, but he has made no progress on this matter. We are almost certain we know who the necromancer is, or was.” He says carefully.

“Darren?” I breathe out.

“No, it was your headmistress. She used your awakening as a diversion while she laundered money through her salon. When we found money up in the portal we confirmed her unlawful business schemes. Then when we caught her on tape burning down her own townhouses, I submitted the evidence for the coven to interpret. William killed Patricia when he found this out. I take it he hasn’t made you aware of this.” Nick admits to me and I widen my eyes.

“How do you know she revived me?” I ask him.

“We do not have solid proof yet, but any hopes of that are gone as she is dead now. She had the biggest causes to have wanted to revive you. Her placement as headmistress was quite convenient too for her to pull over such an act. She was the first one there when you awakened after all.” Nick tells me.

I’m not sure though if it was her, but who else really could have done it? The thing is, Patty despised black magic and as evil as she was...I just can’t picture her wanting to work with demonic magic. Nick’s right though, no one questioned her of course because of her almighty position at the time.

What if it really was her?

Necromancy is one of the worst crimes of our craft. If convicted, she would have had a public execution for it.

I’m more surprised though that Will went and killed her without telling me. Why would he go and kill her himself? Did he do it for me or for some other reason? Why would he keep quiet about it for so long?

I don’t want to feel hurt by him keeping this from me, but how can I not? I’ve been living in fear for over a month, but now I understand. Everything makes sense. I’ve been too blinded by my own trust in him to know he made the mistake of making decisions for me.

If Patty performed necromancy on me, by law I would be the one to legally hold her responsible and sue her for damages. I could have gotten money before he went and killed her. I could have saved people from suffering more if he went and publically held her responsible long ago when the police came forward and gave this information to him!

The coven deserves to know how horrible Patty Gild was, to break one of their biggest laws at that!

How could he do this to me and the coven? No wonder his family moved, they must have known exactly what he did!

Did he ever think about how much she made me suffer? Physically and mentally, being forced to live according to the coven and according to her wishes. All along, she really was a lying witch. It makes me despise her even more and the rest of the coven.

Something inside me withers and I take a shaky breath, hearing my magic rattle the cabinets above me.

“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?” I ask quietly.

“It wasn’t my place, but I thought you had a right to know before he takes office. Think about his position, it would make him look bad if he told the community right before his election. He probably never planned on telling you anything so things would play out in his favor.” Nick says while glancing at the shaking cabinet near his head.

I take a deep breath and force my magic to get under control. After successfully willing it to withdraw back to me, I turn away from Nick and throw open the fridge grabbing a bottle of soda. I slam the fridge shut and open the soda, drinking it quickly.

“Why did you endorse him?” I ask after finishing my drink.

“For the better of the town. His decision may have been poor at the time, but he is right to keep silent about it now. Imagine if he told the coven now and how they’d react. More of them would have shown up tonight.” Nick says looking disgruntled.

“He could have told me.” I mutter bitterly, feeling my lip tremble and I clench my jaw feeling used. He must have been seeking his position as mayor longer than I thought to have kept quiet about this for so long.

A sob escapes me and I clutch the edge of the counter to steady myself feeling my stomach clench.

“Aren’t you happy he is trying to protect you?” Nick asks from beside me sounding puzzled by my reaction.

My thoughts drift back to the ball and their interaction with each other. Will told me he was paying Nick to protect his things like his house. What it must have really been for was hush money, for the police to keep silent about his killing of Patty.

He doesn’t want to protect me, he wants to protect his reputation!

Nick warned me before about Will, that I was just a means to an end to him. If only I knew back then how right he was! It scares me how it just keeps seeming like there’s less and less I know about Will. I keep finding out more about him through other people and it scares me that I don’t know this side to him.

The same side that killed Nick’s father too.

I need to hear Will’s explanation first, before getting crushed by this. There’s bound to be more than a couple witches who knew what Patty did to me and the community. All this time, they’ve gotten away with lying and pinning me as the evil one.

I want them all to pay!

After what Nick told me though, it’s like our hands are tied. We really can’t just tell everyone what Patty did or we risk the coven’s backlash right when things are about to get better. There has to be some way to make sure the guilty ones compensate, but it seems impossible to do without ruining the peace that we are hoping to get out of Will being mayor.

“Maybe you should talk to him tomorrow.” Nick says tiredly, watching me reach for my phone. He’s right, I should. I can’t imagine how this is going to affect Stella too.

“Y-yeah, you’re right.” I hiccup through a sob.

Nick’s warm hand pats my shoulder and he steps closer to me, talking in a lower voice.

“We will find evidence to prove it was her, but you cannot get mad at Will right now. He’s doing what the town needs.” Nick tells me gently, looking apologetic.

“I know...” I mumble while wiping my face.

“I cautioned you before about him, Ms. Parway. Judgment will come for the guilty ones soon.” He says with certainty.

There’s really only so much the police can do though. Even if they are vampires, the coven won’t listen. There will have to be more trials and they will have to be willing to want to participate, which the coven will never be.

“I will be watching this block tonight. You should get some rest.” Nick adds and I nod my head solemnly.

I will my magic to unlock and open the front door for him. With inhuman speed, he reaches the porch then nods his head in my direction, pulling his police hat lower and hiding his face in shadow.

Then he disappears into the night and I shut the door, locking the world out.

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