Spellbound Murder Complete Trilogy (Spellbound Murder Box Set Book 1) Page 31

  Mira went cold. People knew that she had made some mistakes in previous years.

  Mr. Singer sneered at those at the table, and all but Mr. Contrey turned away. "Mira is a very helpful witch doing every one of us a great service, at her own expense."

  "She's done worse for her own gain," Mr. Contrey said.

  It was true. In her college days, she had strayed so far into the darker sides of magic that it had almost killed her, and she had barely noticed. Addicted to her own creation, the spell Bliss, meant that she hadn't cared until another witch had made her see the effects.

  However, that was witch's business. That should only mean the witches didn't like her, didn't it?

  "This is helping everyone," Mr. Bartles said in a calming voice. "The karma will balance out."

  Getting upset won't help anything, Mira told herself. What would Della do if she were here?

  "Mira," Mr. Singer said, not looking at her, "it's time for you to go. Noah, please let the other elders know we are reconvening now."

  Della would keep her head tall and own the room. The best Mira could do was stand up straight and refrain from running to the door.

  When she touched the handle, the ground beneath her began to shake.

  The whole room appeared to convulse. A few yells came from the other rooms. Noah ripped open the door and dragged himself and Mira to stand in the more stable doorway.

  Mira could hear the chink of glass and worried that the chandeliers might fall. Within seconds, however, the shaking stopped. Several of the council members hadn't even made it under the table.

  Mr. Singer stood stock still in the middle of the room, not bothering to go for cover. Instead, he gazed around, as though searching for something. Mira had no idea what he was looking for, but it ended with a look at Mira that made her feel like she was being inspected for defects.

  When his glare resumed, it turned on the council again, allowing Mira to let out a deep breath. Once again, all kinds of scenarios about the witches discovering that she had gone to the Ether filled her mind. She had been in the other world during her first earthquake.

  In the Ether, the world had shaken, and now... Mira didn't get the chance to finish the thought. Emmit appeared at her side as though he morphed into existence instead of walking across the house.

  "Is everything okay?" Emmit asked, addressing his question to her.

  "Um, yeah," Mira said, feeling unsteady, "we're all fine here."

  Emmit nodded and inspected her before turning his attention to the others.

  "If you would join us, Mr. Harker, we are reconvening the elders," Mr. Singer said, not willing to be derailed.

  Emmit nodded. "Thank you, but I'll decline at this time."

  Mr. Singer turned, his eyes darting to Mira and back to Emmit pointedly. "This one I think you will want to be a part of."

  Emmit frowned. "In that case, how can I object?"

  "I'm sure the detective still has a while to go," Mr. Singer said, addressing Mira. "But you may want to check on him before asking your mother to take you home."

  "Oh." Mira wrung her hands, feeling as though she’d been dismissed for bad behavior.

  "I'll call you tomorrow," Mr. Singer added.

  "Right," Mira said.

  She turned to Emmit, but he watched the elders, trying to search for meaning in the chaos.

  "I guess I'll see you around?" She hadn't meant it to be a question, but it came out as one.

  "That is a certainty," he said, still not looking at her.

  She let her hands drop and turned her back on everyone.

  Despite being ousted, she checked on Ian. Walking mutely through the house, she ignored others who practically bristled with energy after the tremors. Their activity seemed to suck more life out of Mira and she was thankful to make her way upstairs to the empty landing.

  They had tried to guilt her into binding yet another person. More, even. The first time around, she had volunteered. It had even been her idea. Now the entire plan felt off kilter. What had she been thinking, binding someone against their will? A part of her tried to remind herself that she had started this for Sally. Mira wanted to find her friend’s murderer. The fact that Sally had been abusing her own power, hurting other people, made Mira feel lost when trying to decide if she had done the right thing.

  "Everyone okay downstairs?"

  "What?" Mira asked.

  Ian looked worn around the edges. He hadn't even been at it for that long. Or had he? So much had happened that it seemed like an eternity had passed.

  "I asked if everyone is okay. You know, after the quake," Ian said.

  "Oh. Yeah." Mira glanced down the stairs to the still excited voices. "I think everyone's okay."

  "Are you?"

  "Sure," Mira said, but she shook her head and scanned the foyer below. "Where's Della?"

  "She ran downstairs to check on things."

  "Do you still have more interviews to do?" Mira asked.

  "Too many." Ian looked as though a weight were pressing down on him.

  He is bearing a heavy load, Mira thought. And I put it there. Now they want me to do this to more people.

  Not that she would need to. It was past time for her to bring Gabriel in. He would hate it, possibly hate her for putting him in that position, but maybe there was a way she could make that up to him, or at least make it a little easier.

  Mira felt life flow back into her. She would get Gabriel to help Ian, and at the same time, she'd shield Gabriel from having to worry about her. He'd be helping his partner and wouldn't have to worry about being dragged out of bed in the middle of the night because Mira was doing something stupid that might get her hurt.

  She couldn't fix things, but she could make them better. The elders would be happy because they’d assume she did what they wanted her to do. Ian would be happy because he'd have his partner back, and Gabriel would be able to trade helping her for helping his partner.

  Everyone wins.

  Ian didn't seem to notice her attention wandering. "I hoped to talk to everyone here, but that's not going to happen. I'm getting addresses and phone numbers for everyone on our list and the few names that Emmit and Lance added. We'll have to schedule different times to meet with everyone."

  "We can do that," Mira said, feeling slightly more cheerful. "Do you need me anymore tonight?"

  "I can't leave for a while—"

  "I'm getting a ride," Mira cut in. "If you're done with me, that is."

  "Sure. It sounded like Della was going to stick around." Ian's lips twitched up as he mentioned her friend.

  "Excellent," Mira said, moving back downstairs. "Call me if you need anything."

  "When do you want to get started on these interviews?" Ian asked.

  "Tomorrow works for me," Mira said, raising her voice slightly to be heard over the sounds echoing up from the entryway.

  People were lined up at the coatroom, waiting for their turn and getting in each other's way.

  "What's going on?" Mira asked when she found her mother in the queue.

  "There's no cell service," her mother said. "Can you believe that? The ground rumbles a few times and now we can't even call to check on people. Your sister's already gone. Worried about the kids, of course."

  Mira moved forward as her mother did. "Would you mind giving me a ride home?"

  "Of course I don't mind, but I'm surprised your young detective isn't taking you."

  "Della's working with him tonight. I'm off the hook."

  Her mom leaned in and lowered her voice. "Has the spell settled yet?"

  Mira shrugged. "Mostly, but he's still fighting it."

  "Your father was like that. Stubborn as hell."

  "Ian's just frustrated." Mira stopped talking when they were able to slip through into the coatroom. They grabbed what they needed and got out of the way.

  Cold air punched through her clothes as soon as they neared the door. Mira and her mother hurried down the driveway and jumped into the
car, hoping against hope that being out of the fresh air would cut the chill. It didn't. They both waited impatiently for the car to produce something that came close to warmth.

  "How are you doing with the spell?" her mother asked as she drove out onto the street.

  Mira shrugged, mostly because she had no idea how to answer that. "I'm still here and still helping."

  "Nothing bad?"

  "John tried to kill me."

  "Don't say that," her mother said.

  "Well, he did."

  "I need to meet Ian's partner and thank him for helping you that day."

  "I'm sure you'll get the chance at some point."

  "Maybe that was all the pent-up karma? Maybe John finding you was all that negativity dropped at once, but Gabriel was your guardian angel."

  Mira wanted to steer clear of that territory. "It could be. It's only little stuff now."

  Her mother turned into Della's driveway. "I'd love to stay, but I need to check on the house. Do you have everything you need?"

  "Sure, I'm good."

  "Where's your car?"

  Chapter 7

  Mira felt better about having a direction to move toward, but trying to convince her mother that everything was fine had dragged Mira's mood down into the mud. It felt like a relief when she finally wished her mother a good night.

  A small part of Mira... no, that was a lie even to herself. A large part of Mira thought Emmit would come over. She thought for sure he would want to speak with her after the council meeting. In the prospect of seeing Emmit, Mira stayed up late, but as the time dwindled by, she gave up hope.

  In the morning, though, Mira bounced back. Helping Gabriel would solve so many problems all in one go. Convincing him to talk to Ian might be difficult, but she was determined to make it work.

  First, however, she needed to make the potion. Luckily, she didn't need to get someone else to take it—it was for her.

  How do you hide from an angel, and not just any angel, but one forced to help you? Mira knew her books well and knew they didn't hold any information about guardian angels. Kindling a small dream that she had overlooked something, she pored over the books anyway, pausing only to check on the progress of the wards. They sat in water mixed with some special ingredients to purify the metal and to help amplify the spell.

  It was late in the morning when she conceded that she had no specialized information on angels or any other winged supernatural.

  Witches were known for being resourceful and inventive, so Mira began to gather known spells to cobble together something new. Several other supernatural races made pacts and promises that were far deeper than the mundane human versions, which gave her a place to start.

  When a knock came at the door, Mira glanced at the clock, surprised that it was almost noon and the morning had slipped away without her notice.

  The stacks of books might be a problem. She thought of taking a few moments to stash at least a few of them, but dismissed the idea when the knock came again.

  After reminding herself that she could use the excuse she was an occult specialist, she went to answer the door. Relief filled her when she opened the door to Gabriel, but it quickly turned to anxiety. Her eyes immediately began to dart around, trying to find anything that might fall on her or that she might trip over.

  Gabriel's worn face broke into a small, sad smile and he shook his head. "I'm here to talk, nothing else."

  The muscles in Mira's shoulders unwound themselves from the knots that had threatened to form. "Come in. You look like you could use some coffee or something else highly caffeinated."

  "I wouldn't say no to coffee," Gabriel said, taking off his jacket.

  Mira took it to hang it up and frowned. "How are you staying warm in this?"

  "You haven't been outside today, I take it," Gabriel said.

  "No." Mira hung the coat and led him to the kitchen. "I've been working on some things."

  "The temperature's up today," he said.

  "That's good. Take a seat and I'll make some coffee. Sorry for the mess."

  "You've had a busy morning." Gabriel sat down and pulled a random book towards him.

  "I'm coming up with a new spell."

  "Can you do that? Just come up with something new?" Gabriel asked.

  Mira glanced at him surprised to find that she didn't care he was inspecting one of her books. "Of course I can. That's what witches do."

  "I thought you used old spells. I pictured old spell books passed down for hundreds of years." Catching her eye, he shrugged. "Or something like that."

  "There's some of that. My parents gave me spells and I've shared some with a few other witches, but spells need to adapt and change with the times."

  "That makes sense, I guess," Gabriel said, flipping through a few pages without really seeing them.

  Mira freshened her tea. When the coffee was ready, she poured some for Gabriel and joined him. "You didn't come here to talk spells, did you?"

  Gabriel shook his head and mutely flipped a few pages.

  Her heart felt squeezed, and she tried to ignore the fact that the amount of concern she felt delved much deeper than she anticipated. "What's up?" The comment came off as off-handed and she inwardly cringed at the overcompensation.

  "How did things go last night?"

  "Oh, yeah. Not bad, I guess. "Della ended up sitting in on the interviews. I..." As she thought about the pseudo meeting with the elders, the weariness she felt last night threatened to overwhelm her again. "I just chatted with some people."

  Gabriel looked concerned and Mira had to stomp down butterflies that threatened to flutter around in her stomach. "What—" He broke off and shook his head, looking back down at the book. "How did Ian do?"

  Gabriel had obviously caught the lie, and she felt as though she should be relieved he hadn't pried further—and she was in a way—but a flicker of disappointment was there as well.

  "He... well, there was a lot for him to do. He didn't get very far, but he has a list of names that we're following up with." Mira glanced at the clock again. "I'm kind of surprised he hasn't called yet."

  "I'm sure he will soon." He didn't sound happy about the fact. "He tried to talk to me, but got ticked off and gave up. We were busy this morning at the office and he left a while ago without a word."

  Mira bit her limp and wrung her hands together. "I'm so sorry."

  "For what?" Gabriel asked without looking up from his study of the book.

  "Because it sucks and it's my fault for putting you both in this situation."

  Gabriel shook his head and pushed the book away. "Last week, maybe, but now? No, this is on me. I'm telling Ian this afternoon. If I can find him, that is."

  "You can tell him I spelled you if you want," Mira said uncertainly. That had been her plan anyway.

  "No. I'm telling him the truth. The whole thing."

  "Everything? Even about the Ether?"

  "Everything," he said more adamantly. "I should have done this a week ago. It's relevant to the case and he needs to know."

  Mira wasn't exactly thrilled about Gabriel telling Ian about their trip to another world. "My spell doesn't cover the Ether."

  "What do you mean?"

  "He'll be able to tell other supernaturals about the Ether, or ask questions about it if you tell him."

  "With John working alongside those things in the Ether, that might not be a bad idea."

  Mira felt as though the world around her might crumble. "It would be really bad if people found out we went to the Ether."

  Gabriel shrugged. "They only need to know that John was in contact with the Ether. Ian's going to have a lot on his mind. No need to overload him."

  "Yeah," Mira said, trying to relax. "I guess you're right. Do you know what you're going to say?"

  "Not a clue."

  "Is there anything I can do?"

  "I doubt it. He's not going to be happy with either of us."

  Mira tried to force a smile. "I'm used to him no
t being happy with me. I'm sure he'll get over it, though."

  "Maybe." Gabriel morosely gazed around the room, and then dragged another book over. "What kind of spell are you making?"

  Mira could tell he really wanted to change the subject. "One for us."

  "Us?"

  "You and me."

  Gabriel gave her an uneasy look.

  "I'll be the one taking it," she assured him. "I'm trying to give you your evenings back."

  "You've lost me again."

  Mira laughed. "I'm making a spell so you don't feel the need to rush over here just because I trip over my own feet or something."

  "How does it work?"

  "It doesn't yet," Mira admitted. "When I'm done, though, I think it will hide me from you. Not physically, of course, but from whatever it is that makes you feel you need to rush out and find me."

  Gabriel sat quietly for few moments. Mira got back to work, giving him time to think through whatever was on his mind.

  "Do you think it's a good idea?" Gabriel asked at last.

  "What? Of course it is," Mira said. "Like you said, this can't go on."

  "But if something bad happens..." He frowned and trailed off.

  "Gabriel, I'm not your responsibility. Not that I don't appreciate everything. I really do." Mira blinked as she mentally added up all that he had done.

  "I didn't do much."

  "You've saved my life. I probably haven't even thanked you properly." Mira looked down, feeling her face grow hot. "I'm not sure how to thank you, but maybe this will help some."

  "Maybe—" Gabriel stopped short.

  "Maybe what?"

  "I don't know."

  "What don't you know?"

  "Everything." He crossed his arms and leaned back in his seat, watching her.

  Mira rolled her eyes and went back to her notes. "That narrows it down."

  "There's just too much I don't know. I'm not sure whatever you’re doing is a good idea."

  "You may be an angel, Gabriel, but you shouldn't be stuck being my guardian angel."

  He sighed. "I wouldn't say I'm stuck."

  "Now who's lying?" Mira asked.

  "I'm just not sure how I feel about this. I know what I said the other night, but Emmit was right. I made a promise."