From the Ashes (Witches of The Demon Isle Book 8) (10 page)

“Well I say about time,” Charlie said breathlessly a minute later, getting the laughter under control. “If there’s a guy out there that’s got the hots for Mack, we should tie her up and hand her over.”

“Might be the only way she’d get to know him enough to give him a chance,” added Michael.

“Yeah, she deserves a chance at love, as much as any of us.” Melinda got quiet. The whole room did. All their love lives were a mess right now and the moment of amusement only masked the misery hovering over them like their own personal storm cloud. 

Melinda was still in love with two men who were not around, and possibly never going to be around again. Emily was hanging onto sanity by a thread, Michael being that thread and it was getting thinner each day. And Charlie and Lizzy…

She stepped up to him and kept her gaze fixed on his. “If tying you up and forcing you to go on a date will work, I can find some rope.” She jested, and yet the glint in her eye dared him to test her claim. His gaze didn’t back down warning her he had a much different idea in mind for using rope.

Michael cleared his throat. “And we’re back to normal.” Flung into his sibling’s love life whether he wanted to be, or not. Both he and Melinda guessed there would be a lot more fighting than dating going on, as Charlie and Lizzy were equally stubborn. Always right. And quick minded to boot. Except when Lizzy befuddled Charlie’s tongue…

“Just how much is known about this reporter lady anyway?” Lizzy slipped right back into witch mode.

“Not much,” answered Charlie doing the same. “What most anyone knows. She was close to finding the Feyk though. She’s tenacious, if not careful.”

“Doesn’t it seem a bit odd that she’s gone missing around the time this vampire showed up?” Lizzy put out there.

“But she was here for weeks before this happened,” argued Michael.

“Yeah. True. But the timing is definitely something to consider,” Lizzy said.

“I think if anything, she’s gotten herself into some kind of trouble she can’t get out of,” said Charlie, gently disagreeing.

“Possibly that too,” agreed Lizzy.

“But you’re right that the timing is… odd,” Charlie conceded.

“And remember, she up and quit a job it appeared she was quite into,” Melinda pointed out. “I think that’s another stroke for the
odd
column.”

“We’ve already confirmed she’s not a supernatural,” said Charlie. “Because William used his persuasion on her to find out what she knew about the Feyk. It only works on humans,” he reminded.

“And I don’t think she’s a victim of this new vampire,” said Lizzy. “Not if she quit her job and then disappeared. It’s more like…”

“Something scared her off,” finished Charlie.

“And she ran,” Lizzy added.

“Must have gotten a reality check and found out things on the Isle are not as they first appear.” Charlie wondered what the reporter had seen.

“Not to say that after this, she didn’t still have a run in with the vampire.”

“She left all her stuff. I wonder if that includes her most personal belongings,” Charlie mused.

“You mean like her purse, wallet, that kind of stuff?” Lizzy asked.

“Yeah.” He looked to Michael and Melinda.

“All left behind. She took nothing,” Michael told them.

“So even if she saw something that scared her, you’d think she’d have snagged her wallet,” noted Charlie.

“Can’t get far without money,” said Lizzy. “That hasn’t changed, even since my time.”

Charlie chuckled. “No, that’s always been around. Which begs the question, is Courtney Jessup still on the Isle? If something scared her, but she stuck around, in hiding…” he stared inquisitively at Lizzy, almost like Melinda and Michael were not even in the room. They in turn sat back and watched Charlie and Lizzy work it through, casting a fleeting glance at each other, silently thinking how like their parents the exchange was. Stubbornness set aside, they complimented each other well.

“It could also mean she got scared, meant to leave, but never had the chance.” Lizzy hated to think of that end. If the reporter got herself into a situation she didn’t know how to get herself out of.

“We’re really getting nowhere, here. I wonder if there’s a way to have Mack find out exactly what she was up to before she went missing.” Charlie was about to call her when Lizzy’s face lit up.

“We can retrace her steps. There’s a potion.” She put up her hand. “I should say try to trace her, it’s iffy. Finicky. Doesn’t always work. If the reporter’s been gone more than a day, the trail will be too weak to follow.” She looked at Melinda. “Tried to use it to find Riley but he was too far ahead of us and there was just too many places to try.”

Melinda tossed her a sympathetic smile. It was killing her slowly, not knowing where her motorcycle man was. And not knowing where William was and when he’d come home. And if she was true to her feelings, she cared about Riley’s well-being immensely. It had just taken her some time to get there.

Lizzy helped herself to the stove and grabbed a pot to brew up a potion. “I will need something personal of Courtney’s for this potion. Like a hairbrush with strands of hair. Or a toothbrush. Nail clippings. Something that’s got
her
all over it. Clothing, or something she only touched is not strong enough,” she made clear.

Charlie nodded. He’d get it.

Melinda saw the look of relief on his face that he had something to do. An actual plan of action. It didn’t get them any closer to finding the killer vampire, but if they could track the reporter, at least they could make sure she was not another victim, and for whatever reason had fled the Isle.

Michael excused himself to go check in with Emily at the bookstore. It was close to lunch.

Charlie took off to pick up something personal of the reporter’s for Lizzy.

Melinda fetched ingredients and watched Lizzy’s every move.

She smiled, catching her. “You want to learn how to do it?”

“Would you mind? I’ve made a few potions, and I’m okay at it, but I could learn a lot more.”

Lizzy told her to grab the bottle of dried sage. “Take out a small amount, about the size of a dime in your palm.” Melinda did. “Now use your thumb and crush it, gently. You don’t want to over crush it.”

“Why not crush it in a bowl, or something?”

“You can, sometimes, but in this case, we need just a smidge of magic infused with the sage,” Lizzy explained. “Your palm is the center of your power. Some will mix with the herb.”

“Charlie started to teach me a little, but honestly, I was never interested until…” she cut herself off. Lizzy was aware she meant until being captured by the Feyk.

“My father always taught me that knowledge is the true key to power. He was sure to teach me something new every day of his life.”

“That must have been nice.” Melinda would give almost anything to have another day with her father or mother.

“It was. And at the same time I was typically pissy about it because I’d rather have spent my time with friends, or kissing boys.”

“Times really haven’t changed all that much. That’s exactly what I used to do when my parents were alive.”

“I think it’s one of those things you don’t know how much you’ll miss until it’s gone,” lamented Lizzy. “But I was lucky. Because even worse than today, back in my time, even as witches, girls were not trained as seriously as boys. But my dad wanted me to be able to stand on my own two feet come hell or high water. I’d like to think I do him proud, all things considered.”

“Are you kidding me? You’re taking on the biggest challenge of your life in dating my brother. That has to count for something.”

“I have yet to succeed,” drawled Lizzy. She sniffed into her pot. “Needs more sage.”

Melinda opened the bottle and followed Lizzy’s instructions, adding into the mixture. She must have rubbed it against her palm just right because once stirred in Lizzy smiled when a low hiss came out of the pot.

“Cool,” Melinda whispered.

“All potions require specific preparation of the ingredients,” Lizzy explained. “For example, if you cut the sage with a knife and tossed it in, this particular potion would be weak, maybe not even work at all. If you rubbed it between your palms and crushed it too vigorously, it would be too strong.”

“And I thought William’s potion was hard. I have so much to learn. So much time I’ve wasted in the last few years.”

“I could teach you how to make potions.”

“You wouldn’t mind?” Melinda asked eagerly.

“No. It would be fun. And good practice for myself too. And Lucas… I should make him do it too.”

“Oh, that’ll make his misery complete,” joked Melinda. “He really hates it here, doesn’t he? Wishes he hadn’t come to live on the Isle?”

“I hate to answer yes, but if I had to wager… yes. He loathes this place. But I hope in time, once he sees what good magic is capable of, he will come around.”

“Have you noticed Lucas acting funny?”

“He is moping around the house like a lost little lamb. So, normal.”

Melinda got an inquisitive look on her face. Lizzy shot her a questioning gaze in return.

“It’s nothing much I imagine. I ran into him the other day and he acted like something had spooked him.”

“Can’t say I’ve seen any strange behavior out of him.”

“Probably reading into things that are not there.”

Lizzy breathed out in curiosity. “You get prophetic dreams, so your senses are keen when it comes to suspecting things I imagine.”

“Sometimes.” She groaned, rephrasing. “A lot of the time.”

“You’re a bit like Riley in that way.”

Melinda stiffened at his name. “He is always eerily good at reading my mood. Almost a bit empathic in a way.”

“I’m not sure what Riley is. I’ve never seen a gift like his. It doesn’t run in the family, or at least as far back in the Deane family that I knew.”

“It’s so weird that you knew my ancestors. And Deane ancestors.” She watched Lizzy stirring the potion, a question on the edge of her tongue.

Lizzy looked up and eyed her. “Just ask… geesh. You guys are so shy about asking what you want.”

“Sorry. Feels like I’m prying.”

“I don’t mind. It’s a unique situation. I’m very old.”

Melinda laughed, before getting more serious. “What was it like, on the island back when you were alive before? What was it like to live all those years as a ghast? Watching your life fly by and not being able to reach out to anyone you cared about. Or have any control over your life.”

“It was everything you can imagine, and so much better, and so much worse. Life on the island before was everything I imagined my life could be. I was happy. I loved being a witch. And there were a lot more witches back then. Heck, I think half the Isle’s population was witch versus human. We were not like you, in feeling so stuck here. Although, the Isle is my favorite place, there’s no other like it as far as I’m concerned and I don’t plan to live anywhere else. But back then, there were so many of us to protect the power source it was rarely a question of not having enough people for the job.”

“I can’t imagine that.”

“It’s something to behold. However, if we can all get our love lives settled we can start popping out some babies and changing that.”

Melinda snorted. “I am not in a hurry!”

“I’m not really either.” She wrinkled her nose. “I’m a little eager. I never actually thought of myself as the having a big family type. But that’s something that changed while I was ghast. I had a lot of time to think about love. And family. And watched the downfall of the Deanes, watched the Howard family numbers dwindle. I’m not sure exactly the moment I changed my mind, but I did. And I decided if I ever got the chance to finish my human life I wanted lots of babies. I have a sinking feeling your brother is going to test my patience though.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure. Setting aside his constant worrying about things, he pretty much sees it as his duty to bring new witches into the world.”

“I’m counting on that,” Lizzy beamed. “A Deane and Howard bloodline will not only end this ridiculous blood feud and start healing the rift between our families, but will make for some powerful children. Pureblood witches. It’s a rare thing. And a good start to securing the future for the Isle, and the Howards. Not that the bloodline is weak by any means. But you’re just three left. Imagine if something happened to you… it’s a sad truth, but one to be concerned with nonetheless.”

“A conversation I had recently and wish I could forget,” Melinda glowered, thinking back to her uncomfortable baby-making-machine talk with William.

“Regardless of bloodlines and powerful offspring, it’s a smart match on many levels. Your brother is a good man. Any woman he let get close enough would see it. He’s stubborn. Rather cocky at times, but so am I. He’s a bit rough around the edges, but I kind of like that. And I’m sorry, but your brother is eye-candy. New term I just learned watching some ridiculous thing called reality TV. No idea what’s so real about it, but anyway, Charlie Howard is the definition of eye-candy.”

“I’ll take your word for it,” Melinda mumbled. She had her own versions, but now had to strike eye-candy out of use as it was now forever describing her brother.