Witch for Hire (16 page)

"He hasn't done that?" Surprise colored Mom's voice.

"Not that I know of. I don't think Davis had time before he was attacked."

"Very strange. Did he not think of it, or is there another reason?" Dad didn't sound happy with Carls. I didn't say anything. I didn't know enough to venture an opinion on this topic. "You've done everything you could. If the man wants miracles, he needs to be favored with a deity, not a witch."

"I know. I don't think he does, but I do."
 

Conversation lapsed for a few minutes, during which my Narzel-blessed phone rang again. "Sorry, I need to take this." I flipped open the phone, "Oaks Consulting."

"Good news, we found the troll. It's in custody and Carls will be eating a few of his words."
 

"Did he say as much? Wait, where did you find the troll?

"No, he didn't want to be disturbed at home, so he won't know we have the troll until tomorrow. We found him hiding under a bridge to avoid the sun. Your spell led us right to him. We think he'd been dumped there by the remaining people who'd been holding him. We may yet find useful fingerprints at the crime scene."

It was a score for me, but I wasn't in the clear. There were still six more trolls on the loose.
 

"I'm not gonna hold my breath for an apology. I got to go. I'm having dinner with family. Thanks for letting me know."

"Have a good dinner."
 

We hung up and I turned my attention back to food and family. Looking at the expectant faces I had to explain.

"They found the troll using the tracking rock."

They both made happy noises, but dad was the one to sum up my feelings, "He can't fire you if your spells work."

I grinned, "I'm thinking he'll have a hard time explaining that one."

Conversation lapsed as we focused more on eating and less on talking. The salad was great, but mom's homemade sauce and pasta were the real stars.
 

"Michelle, has anyone signed up for the class?"
 

"Not yet, Mom, but the information only started going out yesterday. I've got a few weeks before the first class."
 

"It would be nice if the class does well."

"Yes, it would. I'd love to have another profitable aspect to the business, one that requires less traveling." I couldn't believe the miles I'd put on my car since the trolls entered my life. "How's work been going, Mom?"

"Work's been good. We haven't had anything too crazy come in. Mostly things that should be handled by witches, not doctors and modern medicine." Her brow furrowed. "We have had several suicides and attempted suicides. The police are investigating, but it worries me."
 

"Why?" Dad wasn't saying anything. I was betting that she'd told him about these feelings a while ago.
 

"Unless there's a cult, you don't see a lot of suicides at the same time. These don't look like a cult because they didn't do it the same way or at exactly the same time. It's very strange."
 

I patted her hand. "Don't worry, Mom. If it was magical they would've called me. I'm sure it was just a group of friends that had a pact or something." She didn't look convinced, but she let it go.
 

A few minutes later I thought of something else to ask. "So, Dad, where do you work?" We'd talked about several things, but so far that hadn't been on the list. I was curious, but doubtful that I'd get an answer.

"Well, I manage several business interests, and a few other things. I would tell you more, but it would violate all the reasons we didn't tell you about me," he blushed.

"I get it. I don't like it, but I understand." Conversation lagged as we all tried to think of something to say, a reoccurring theme this evening.
 

"Dad, do you work with the local shifters, or werewolves?"

"Some, why?"

"I've heard rumors that there's a bit of discord in werewolf community." I was fishing, and from the look on his face he knew.
 

"You must be referring to Simon's son, Adder. He's dangerous," a strong warning since he was a werewolf. "I don't know what's going on, but he's plotting something, and I doubt it will benefit his father. I've heard people may try to leave the pack if he becomes the alpha."

"We've treated a few wolves that have found themselves on his bad side. I wouldn't tangle with that one. He only leaves them alive because the law demands it." Mom brought dessert over. "Have you been on any dates recently?"

"No, I've been too busy to date. It's hard to bond over murder victims." I hated it when Mom started asking about my love life.
 

"I would've thought you'd meet someone in all the traveling you've been doing."

"You thought wrong. I deal with the same people at work. If any of them were interested they would have made their move a while ago. Besides, most of the men I work with are twice my age or married."
 

"I think I know some nice warlocks that would like to meet you. No dates, just a small dinner party over here."

"No, Mom, I don't want to sit in the living room with four or five guys as their only source of entertainment. It's silly. I'll find a guy, just not yet." This was the first time she'd offered to set me up like this, but I didn't want to encourage this trend. I was not in favor of it.
 

"Perhaps, you'd like a few more girlfriends that are witches? The boys could escort a female relative. Everyone would win that way."
 

"I don't think it's a good idea. The way my luck goes, I'd get a call from the police after they arrived." This was not something I wanted to be involved in.

"Perhaps she's right, Nancy. Give it some time, she's young yet." I shot him a grateful look, receiving a wink back.

Michelle

"Michelle, you're about to run into the table."
 

I stopped dead. I knew that voice. I just hadn't expected to hear it again. My eyes flew open. "Elron?" He smiled. "What are you doing here? I thought you went home."

"I did, but I came back. I'm going to stay a while." His smile was perfectly polite, but somehow I was sure he was smirking at me.

"Oh, well, I hope you get used to smaller trees."

"I'm sure I will. Go on, get some food. We can catch up over dinner." He patted the empty seat next to him.
 

I nearly bit through my lip to keep from sneering. I was too busy looking at the table to see what I piled on my plate. Elron had clearly saved a seat next to him. Landa and Mander were sitting across from him, with a male selkie and a nixe couple on the other side. Selkies were a type of shape shifter, changing from a human to a seal, with the help of a seal skin. Most selkies lived in the sea, as a seal with their pod. This particular selkie was wearing his seal skin as a cape.

Nixe were strange. They could morph into a variety of creatures if they were in or near a large body of water, but the bottom hem of their clothing was always wet. Before they had joined the civilized races, they had lured people to their death in water. Once they'd joined the civilized, races their elders hunted down any who didn't obey the new laws. Nixe were very well behaved these days.

Not seeing much of a choice, I sat down next to Elron. Sitting somewhere else when he'd essentially announced that the chair next to him was for me would draw unwanted attention.

"Hi, I'm Michelle." I would do a lot to avoid talking to Elron without seeming rude.
 

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Lady. I am Carr." The selkie was very polite. He was elegantly dressed, with silver hair and a handsome physique. His good looks weren't surprising; the race had a reputation for being easy on the eyes.
 

"Nice you meet you."
 

"We are Nell and Neil," the nixe couple said. They were eye-catching, making it difficult to look away. It was more hypnosis than beauty. Their skin has a slight blue tint, with big, almond shaped eyes.
 

I started eating as everyone else fell into conversation. Elron let this go for a few minutes before he asked, "What have you been up to while I've been away?"

I couldn't dodge this. "I've been working on a few cases with the police. Mostly, I've been trying to track the escaped trolls."

His elegantly arched brows shot up. "Trolls escaped?"

"Yes. There's a preserve in Forsyth County. Someone blew a big hole in the fence and eight trolls escaped. I'm surprised you didn't hear about it."

"I've been busy and away from modern sources of information. What have you done to help track the escapees?" He looked genuinely interested.
 

"I devised a spell to find creatures that matched a sample I provided and then I told it to eliminate things that were more like humans than trolls. The results from the spell look promising, but when the police searched an area there should have been something in, they only found signs of a troll." I could feel frustration creeping into my voice.
 

"Why were physical means of tracking not used? I would have tried that before I tried magical means. Not that magic isn't effective, but without a direct link to each individual you are trying to track it sounds more difficult than is practical."
 

"The police didn't find any physical traces, and we don't know exactly which individuals from the population escaped, or which ones are now dead. If I can get that information and something of theirs I can cast a better spell." I did see his point. A trained dog or a shifter could just follow the person until they found them. What I'd done wasn't nearly as straightforward and still required more work by the police.
 

He hummed as he munched on his food. "I'll think on that matter. What's your mother's name?"
 

"What business of yours is it?"

"I find I am curious about your origins."
 

"What does that even mean?" I could feel myself blush. I drank a bit of tea and started eating with more enthusiasm. If my mouth was full I couldn't answer.
 

"I want to know who you are and who you come from. I want to know more about you. Isn't that what friends do; ask questions to learn about each other?" His carefully arched silver brow was almost funny.
 

"But we aren't friends." I was starting to think he forgot all the rules of logic and debate he must of learned as a youngster when he was around me.
 

"We could be."

"I'd have to agree, and I won't."

"I could grow on you. You never know."

"It would be nasty if you grew on me. That's something fungus does. I wouldn't want fungus as a friend." I was starting to have a bit of fun.

"You could think of me as more of a pet, like a dog."

"Dogs need a lot of attention. I don't have very regular hours. I wouldn't make a good dog owner."

"Cat then. Most witches like cats. They're independent, the black ones scare people, and they make a good familiar."
 

I glared at him. "I don't have a familiar. Few good witches do. It's far too easy to abuse that power."
 

"You're not the first witch I've known. I could help you." His face was guarded, something that seemed to be rare for him.
 

"How could you help me? You're not a witch, and witches rarely reveal their spells to outsiders." Witches tended to be selfish and greedy with power or knowledge of how to use power. It was one of the reasons clans were so important. Most witches wouldn't teach spells to an outsider, but they would teach one of their own.
 

"Would you be willing to trust me?"

"I doubt it. It's easy for bad things to happen when trying a spell someone else wrote." Seriously, if he knew other witches, he had to know witches often left out steps when sharing spells. Most spells went wrong if something was skipped, and wrong usually included a nasty side effect for the witch. Did he think I was crazy?

"I don't suppose there's a way I could prove myself?" He huffed out a breath.

"If there is, this isn't it."

"Alright, then I'll change the subject. What can you tell me about your clan?"

I spit my words through clenched teeth. "We've been over this. I don't have a clan. I don't know anything about my mother's clan. No clan has ever claimed me, nor have I ever claimed a clan. What more could there be?"

"What about your tattoo?" He looked a bit too smug for my taste, but he had a valid point. Witches didn't have many things that visibly distinguished them from humans or shifters. What they did have was a birthmark, more like a tattoo really, that was magically embedded in their skin before birth. No witch or wizard actively performed the spell, but the tattoo was in the child's skin when they were born. I had a set of symbols on my right shoulder blade. This tattoo was often called a clan scar, as the symbol was unique to the birth clan of a witch. If a witch later joined a different clan, and participated in a joining ceremony, the clan scar would change.
 

"I don't know what it says." I couldn't deny having one; every naturally born witch had one, and I wasn't a sorceress.
 

"Why not?" He was prying now.
 

"None of your business." I turned back to my food.
 

"I can read it."
 

"I don't believe you. Leave me alone; I want to talk to other people."

"I'm telling the truth." He looked earnest.
 

"I wouldn't know if you lied to me about my tattoo, so it doesn't matter if you're telling the truth. I'm not going to show my tattoo."

"Why don't you know what it says?"

"Because clan symbols are guarded secrets. If my mother knew them, she knew enough not to teach me." This was annoying. My clan was his favorite topic of conversation.
 

"Some of the clans can be a bit harsh." He chewed some salad, clearly thinking. "Have you spent time with many elves?"