Chapter 21
TWENTY-ONE
Vail knocked on the front door of Ryley’s house. I didn’t know how she found out where he lived, and I didn’t bother asking. I was not totally sold on this plan.
“Do you think he’ll let us in?” I asked her.
“Probably not,” she said. “But worth a shot.”
We waited there for a moment and heard no sounds from inside the house.
“He’s probably not home,” I said, feeling defeated. I didn’t even know what we would do once he opened the door. Or how we would get inside. If he invited us in, Vail’s plan was to return later to investigate his house without him there.
Vail gave me the side-eye and knocked again.
“Do you smell that?” I asked, sniffing the air. The cold winter air stung my lungs, but I smelled blood.
Vail twisted the door handle. It was unlocked. She opened it and stepped inside. No invisible threshold kept her out, which could only mean one thing.
The scent of blood hit me like a wall once I stepped inside. It was fresh. I was glad I drank a lot earlier that evening, though I could still feel an itch in my senses. Vail walked around the corner of the hallway into the living room, and I followed her.
“Holy shit,” I said as I took in the sight.
Ryley’s body—or what I assumed was his body— was sprawled across the hardwood floor, surrounded by shattered glass from the back window.
His throat had been slit; his chest caved in as if something had pressed down hard enough to break his ribs.
Dark, almost black blood pooled beneath him, seeping into the fibres of the orange shag carpet.
His limbs were bent unnaturally, his fingers curled as though he had been grasping for something in his final moments.
Candles flickered around him in a perfect circle, their flames swaying gently in the breeze from the broken window.
“What happened?” I asked.
Vail looked at me like I was dim. “Another witch did this,” she said, as if pointing out the obvious. “I can taste their magic. This just happened.” She smacked her lips together, tasting the air. “Burnt caramel.”
I stuck out my tongue and tasted nothing. “Does your magic have a taste?” I asked her.
“I’ve never asked,” she replied as she walked around cautiously. “Normally, I can’t taste another witch’s magic. It’s easy to cover up your scent in spells. It’s something we learn early on, so another witch can’t know what spells you cast. Unless you want them to know it was you.”
Other than Ryley’s body and the candles in the room, nothing else looked to be touched. In fact, there was nothing else in the room at all, as if Ryley or someone else had gotten rid of all their belongings.
Lost in my own thoughts, I reached out to touch one of the candle flames.
“Don’t do that!” Vail moved faster than I could see, knocking me out of the way before I could extinguish the flame. “You should know better than to touch a witch’s spell. You have no idea what will happen.”
She was right, I should have known better. But being away from her and magic for so long made me forget.
“You invited me to come here with you, and now I’m just following you around. I feel useless.”
Sirens rang outside, and the flashing blue and red lights of a cop car filled the room. “A neighbour must have called the cops.”
We ran out the back door, but just as we reached the alley, I saw someone standing on the roof across the street. Staring at us. A slim figure, barely visible in the dim light. They turned and bolted, jumping from rooftop to rooftop across the closely packed buildings.
“It’s the witch. Let’s follow them,” Vail said. She crouched slightly and cupped her hands. I stepped into them, and she boosted me onto the nearest rooftop.
We chased the figure, leaping from one building to the next. The cold wind whipped against my face, and my boots scraped against the rooftops. Adrenaline coursed through me with the thrill of the chase.
Vail reached into her purse, and pulled out a vial. She threw it and the glass broke, just nearly missing the person running.
Out of the vial grew a large wave of water. Growing to become 20 feet tall, it towered over the figure, threatening to engulf him. Just as the wave came crashing down, the figure shot out their hands, and a black wall of magic formed, shielding them from the wave as it crashed.
We continued to run, and as I jumped, my foot caught the edge of a gutter, now wet from Vail’s spell, and I tripped, my body pitching forward. My hand shot out, grabbing the eaves just in time. My other arm swung wildly beneath me.
If I fell, I wouldn’t die, but at this height, I’d probably break my ankles. Something I didn’t want to happen.
“Vail!”
She hesitated, her gaze flicking between me and the figure, now just feet away from her. Then she ran toward me, reaching out.
“Take my hand!”
I looked into her eyes as they pleaded with me. I let go, trusting her. She caught me and hauled me up.
“Thanks.”
We turned to look for the witch, but they were gone.
“Shit.”
Frustration burned through me. Defeated, we decided to head back.
By the time we got back to Vail’s house, the sun was starting to rise. The silence between us was thick and sour. Her disappointment clung in the air like bitter smoke.
“Just admit you’re mad at me,” I muttered as I shut the door behind us. “You’ve been giving me the silent treatment the whole drive back. I don’t want it for the rest of the night.”
Vail exhaled sharply, running a hand through her hair.
“Before you walked back in, my life was going pretty well. George was alive and I didn’t have two dead bodies that I had to bury in the course of a week.
” She looked up at me. “Our only lead is dead, and we just found out there is another witch in town, possibly involved in this all, and they ran away because you tripped over your damn feet.”
“You didn’t have to save me. You could’ve run after them. I would’ve managed,” I told her.
“I just … I feel like I failed George.”
“Welcome to the club,” I scoffed.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” she snapped.
I took a step closer, my eyes burning. “You really want to do this? You want the truth?”
She didn’t flinch, so I gave it to her.
“Don’t you think there’s a reason I haven’t found you or reached out to you in seventeen years, Vail?
I spent my whole life trying to be someone you’d be proud of, and I never once felt like I was enough.
You made me feel small. Like I’d never measure up.
And when I needed you the most, you broke me. ”
“I broke you? I gave up everything for you, Rose. I abandoned my family and my life for you! And then you disappeared. You left me!”
“Because you lied to me!” I yelled, my voice cracking. “For over a hundred years, Vail. You kept secrets from me and called it love. How was I ever supposed to trust you after that? How do you trust anyone after something like that?”
“You’re so selfish,” she spat, her voice trembling with fury. “You always have been. Not everything is about you.”
“Fuck you,” I snapped. “I’m going to the bookshop.”
I turned, ready to storm out, but I stepped into an invisible barrier in front of me. Her magic. Then I felt Vail’s hands reach out to touch my back.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered.
I took a deep breath and broke.
I threw my arms around her, burying my face in her shoulder, and for the first time in seventeen years, I let myself hold her. Really hold her. Like I used to. Like I still needed to.
I wanted to tell her everything. About the years I’d wandered. The faces I’d forgotten, the names I couldn’t. The nights I whispered her name to the stars, wondering if she still thought of me. If she still hated me.
But all I did was hold on.
“I’m sorry about the way we ended things,” she said into my hair. “And you’re not useless, Rosie. Or a failure. I need you. I always did.”
I realized on my walk that my feelings for Connor were undoubtedly formed from my reconnecting with Vail more than anything else. Perhaps, the road-weary traveller in me had simply craved some excitement.
I entered the bookshop, and the scents of freshly brewed coffee and well-loved books enveloped me. The bustling café beside buzzed with activity, and remnants of Christmas still lingered. Dried oranges and lush greenery adorned the shelves, while paper snowflakes hung from the ceiling.
I unzipped my jacket and made my way to the back of the store, where the botanical section was. Walking down the narrow aisles, I trailed my fingers along the spines of books, inhaling as my lungs filled with my favourite smell. Throughout my life, bookshops have always been my sanctuary.
I sifted through the titles looking for the one Vail needed, and a low voice broke through the quiet hum of my thoughts. “Find what you’re looking for?”
I turned around to see Connor. His dimples and captivating hazel eyes were begging me to reach out to touch him.
So much for trying to avoid him.
“Maybe,” I replied with a hint of playfulness. “Are you stalking me?”
Connor grinned, taking a step closer until he was practically leaning over me. I found myself caught in his gaze. “You might be the one stalking me, considering this is where I work.”
“Oh, I didn’t know that.”
“You didn’t know that I had a job?” he chuckled.
“Yeah, being a musician surprisingly doesn’t pay very well …
or at all, really.” He ran his hand through his hair, and I caught a whiff of his musky scent as he lifted his arm.
I tried not to make it obvious that I was breathing in his smell, but it was intoxicating. “What do you do for work?”
I hesitated, momentarily distracted by his presence and his scent. “I’m between jobs at the moment,” I replied truthfully. Though I didn’t mention that I’ve never actually had a real job. I got money the way most Vampires do after they eat. Stealing.
“I saw you the other night at my show,” Connor said, shifting his weight forward. I moved slightly, my back pressed against the bookshelf, feeling a jolt of electricity at his proximity.