Destiny of the Witch (The Other Witch #4)

27. Chapter 27

Chapter 27

Like most things, education begins at home, so the next morning, I got up and tracked down Benji and, more importantly, Benjamin. They were in Oscar’s flat, having a subdued breakfast. ‘Are you okay?’ I asked my dad, when I saw the slight shake of his hands.

‘I had one too many drinks last night,’ he admitted.

‘Even after Edward spiked you?’ I said incredulously. ‘Are you crazy?’

‘I brought up a bottle of whisky and I kept it stoppered and in sight at all times,’ he reassured me.

‘He did,’ Benji confirmed. ‘He even took it into the bathroom with him. I chose not to drink, Am. The memories are too fresh.’

‘And imbibing alcohol also dulls the sense,’ Benjamin pointed out primly.

‘So you kept saying,’ Oscar grouched, head in his hands.

‘If you’d drunk less, my wizard friend, your head would not feel quite so awful,’ Benjamin observed.

‘Yes, thank you, Benjamin.’ Oscar’s tone was not thankful.

I turned my attention to Benjamin. ‘We need to talk privately.’

One eyebrow rose. ‘Right now, Miss Amber?’

Oscar’s flat was far smaller than mine: a small, open-living space with a kitchenette-diner, one bedroom and bathroom. If I wanted privacy, we didn’t have too many options. ‘Yes, right now. We’re borrowing your bedroom,’ I said to Oscar. He nodded, head still in his hands.

‘Where’s David?’ I asked as we went into the bedroom.

‘He is returning to Edinburgh this morning. He was feeling anxious about leaving the Coven Council without a golem. He was also very excited to take a train. Ethan drove him to the station,’ Benji explained.

I shut the door behind us. ‘Sit.’ I gestured to the edge of the bed.

Benjamin sat on the rumpled bed with a moue of distaste.

‘We need to talk about your Anti-Crea beliefs,’ I started firmly. ‘I cannot tell you what to think, but I can tell you what actions will not be tolerated. Whilst I appreciate that you were made in a far different time—’

Benjamin held up a hand. ‘Please stop there, Miss Amber. This lecture, though no doubt kindly intended, is wholly superfluous.’

‘Superfluous? I don’t think so! Conversations about bigoted beliefs are never superfluous. We are all guilty of cultural microaggressions now and again, but we have to consciously overcome those through deliberate action and thought. I—’

‘Miss Amber,’ Benjamin interrupted me firmly. ‘The lecture is not superfluous because it is not a worthwhile topic, but simply because I have already seen past my previous state of ignorance. I no longer believe or support the theory that magical creatures have less worth than their purely human counterparts.’

Now I was stumped. ‘Oh,’ I said as the wind was thoroughly sucked out of my sails. ‘What brought that on?’

‘Benji is defined as a creature,’ Benjamin said slowly. ‘As I reside in his body that makes me one too, and I have never been into self-loathing. But honestly? It was the first time in his flesh that did it. I watched all Benji did and – forgive me, my friend – I could even hear his thoughts. They are pure. He is the kindest, most genuine being I have ever met. He is far greater than me. Bound now as we are, I fear the effect my thoughts will have on him. ’

‘I’ve told you,’ Benji rumbled, ‘you mustn’t worry about that. Our thoughts are meant to be private. I don’t blame you one bit for what you think – I only measure you by what you say and do.’

‘And how do you find my measure now?’ Benjamin asked curiously.

‘So far I believe you have been in a difficult situation, forced to help others and to barter with their very life force to survive. Sometimes circumstances force us to make choices we wouldn’t usually make. But you’re not in that position any longer. Now you can make your own choices. Time will show what those will be, but there is no judgement from me for the choices you had to make before.’

‘He helped Mum bind her mind and soul to an evil crystal of death,’ I grumbled.

‘Miss Amber, that was at your mother’s insistence,’ Benjamin interjected. ‘I told her clear as day that she should seek another option. But time was pressing, so she did not.’

‘So that was not his fault,’ Benji added.

I blew out a sigh. ‘No, it wasn’t.’ In her prime, Mum had been a force to reckon with; trying to tell her no was like trying to make the sun rise at night. ‘ Okay, well – good chat,’ I finished lamely. ‘Let’s go and see what the boys are up to.’

I walked back into Oscar’s cosy living room and paused. The atmosphere was tense. ‘What’s up?’ I looked between Oscar and Bastion but neither man would meet my gaze. ‘Well?’ I asked impatiently. ‘What is going on?’

Bastion finally turned to me. ‘After we cracked the CD, I copied it and sent it to Incognito.’

‘Your hacker friend?’

‘My hacker acquaintance ,’ Bastion corrected.

‘Okay. And?’

‘And he just rang. He followed a paper trail for Shaun Bolton. A couple of years after your mum kicked him out, he used a few different identities. He was Grant for a while, then Toby. Then he went to meet with a high-end plastic surgeon and a low-end document forger.’

I swallowed. ‘Does Inc know what Shaun looks like now? What name he uses at the moment?’

Oscar stood and put an arm around me. He led me to his sofa. ‘Sit,’ he urged.

I sat.