Chapter 4 #2
“I’m surprised she hasn’t permanently worn the glass thin.” Louisa rolled her eyes. “I’ll just bet she loved the fact you were back in town.”
Olivia snorted as she picked up her wineglass. “It was like Christmas had come early. You should’ve seen her face when she figured out who I was…” She shook her head and picked up her fork once again. “She was convinced that Adam was a drifter who’d ended up robbing Jackson and taking off.”
“You know Adam and Jackson?” Jake asked.
“I met them last night,” she replied. “There wasn’t anything edible in the house, so I went down to the pub for dinner.”
“Never mind that.” Louisa’s gaze fixed on Jake. “Get to the juicy stuff.”
“I can’t. You know I can’t discuss an ongoing case.”
“Come on, Jake. What’s the point of having a cop as a brother if I don’t get all the good gossip? You know I won’t tell anyone.”
“There’s nothing to gossip about.” Jake picked up his beer, pausing before taking a sip. “Mrs. Bailey may be the town busybody but, in this case, she does have a point. Adam led a pretty transient life. It’s possible he just decided to move on.”
“You don’t believe that though.” Olivia tilted her head as she studied Jake’s expression. “Do you?”
Jake stared at her for a long moment and then released a loud breath.
“Fine, but this goes no further than the three of us. Adam’s car was left in the parking lot with the door unlocked.
There was blood found on the door rim, and all of his clothes and possessions are still in his room over at the Black Cat Motel. ”
“God,” Louisa whispered, her expression serious. “Do you think something bad happened to him?”
“We don’t know yet.” Jake shook his head and continued to eat.
“Poor Adam.” Olivia muttered. “I only met him last night, but he seemed like a nice enough guy, and I think he had something going on with the red-haired server.”
“What makes you say that?” Jake asked.
“Just an observation.” Olivia shrugged. “The way they looked at each other. It wasn’t just familiar, it was intimate.”
“You always were good at reading people,” Louisa murmured as she studied Olivia. “Well, I hope they find him and that he’s okay.”
“Time will tell,” Jake said quietly as they settled in to eat in companionable silence.
“It’s getting a little cold in here.” Olivia set her empty dish on the floor beside her. “I think I’ll light the fire.”
Jake’s face lit up with a kind of boyish glee. “Are you going to light the fire or, you know…” He lifted his brows and wiggled them. “Light the fire?”
“Jake.” Louisa rolled her eyes.
“What?” He grinned. “I just wanted to see if she could still do it.”
“Do what?” Olivia replied, hiding her smile behind her wineglass.
“You know exactly what,” Jake answered. “When we were kids, you were able to create fire out of thin air. I watched you light candles just by blowing on the wicks dozens of times.”
“Oh, that.” Her mouth curved slowly as her eyes glittered. The fire suddenly roared to life in the hearth. “Child’s play.”
“Holy shit!” Jake laughed as he jolted in surprise, spilling his beer in his lap.
Louisa’s jaw dropped. “Wow.”
Olivia simply laughed as she topped off her wine. She was showing off, she knew it, but Louisa and Jake had been the only ones who’d ever seen her magic, other than her family, and after years of hiding what she was, it was nice to finally allow herself to just be.
“That shit’s awesome!” Jake grinned in delight.
Olivia watched them both, and the dark place deep inside her began to shrink for the first time in over two decades.
“You think that’s cool?” She set her glass down.
“Watch this.” She held her hands in front of her, fingers splayed like she was holding an invisible ball.
Her eyes filled with concentration and as she twisted her hands and a burning orb appeared.
Louisa and Jake, their expressions entranced as her warm honey-colored eyes deepened until they were almost pure gold.
The glowing sphere between her palms pulsed and grew, swirling and writhing in her hands.
She pulled her hands apart, stretching the burning mass until it began to change shape. It churned and swirled in her palm like a miniature tornado made of pure flame.
Olivia watched the ribbons of orange, red, and gold that made up the very substance of her magical fire. They wound round and round in never-ending circles. No one could see the fire the way she did; it was hers and hers alone.
She lifted her gaze to find Jake staring at her, his blue eyes wide. “Do you trust me?” she whispered.
“I trust you.”
“Then reach out and touch the flames.” Her voice was low and held a hint of amused challenge.
He hesitated for a second before taking a deep breath and plunging his hand into the swirling flames, gasping in surprise. “It’s cold. You can control its temperature.”
She smiled at him and cupped her hands, the fire seemed to writhe and undulate between her hands, shifting its shape once more as Jake and Louisa watched in rapt fascination.
When Olivia parted her hands, a large dragonfly comprised of flames, shivered in her palms, pulsing with light. It launched itself into the air, arching above them and splitting into two.
“Holy crap.” Louisa clapped in delight as she watched the two flaming dragonflies chasing each other around the room.
Olivia lifted her hand, and they landed gracefully. Her skin glowed as they were reabsorbed back into her palm.
“I guess you embraced your gifts then?” Jake sipped his beer as he studied her.
“I did.” Olivia nodded before dropping her head back against the couch, breathing deeply.
“After all, I’m descended from two incredibly powerful witching lines on both my mom’s and my dad’s sides.
But I guess in the beginning I figured choosing to follow the path of the witch was, I don’t know, somehow honoring my mom, a way to be close to her after she was gone.
It took me a long time to understand that being a witch wasn’t a conscious choice it’s who I am. ”
“Wow, that’s deep.” Jake’s lips twitched.
Olivia grabbed a cushion and threw it at his head. “Brat.” She laughed.
Grinning, he caught it and tucked it comfortably under himself.
“What about you two?” Olivia asked.
Although the hadn’t come from a magical family, her friends were also gifted.
It was what had drawn them to each other in the first place.
Her eyes suddenly widened as she stared at them, realizing they had unconsciously embraced their gifts just by the professions they’d chosen.
Louisa had always been able to tell when someone was sick or hurt, and Jake had always had an uncanny ability to know when someone was lying.
“Just connected the dots, haven’t you?” Louisa laughed, draining the rest of her wine.
“Yeah, I guess you could say our professions chose us, rather than the other way around.” Jake shrugged.
“Hey.” Louisa sat up. “Do you remember when we were kids and used to sneak off into the woods to our secret den and pretend to practice witchcraft?”
“To be fair, Lou, we were kinda practicing witchcraft.”
“Whatever.” She rolled her eyes. “Do you think it might still be there?”
“I have no idea.” Olivia blinked. “The woods are private property, at least that part was. I suppose it’s possible.”
“Let’s go see.” Louisa climbed off the couch.
“Are you being stupid just for fun?” Jake glanced up at her. “It’s late, it’s wet, and it’s been over twenty years. The secret den is probably long gone.”
Louisa tugged on his arm. “Quit whining and get your ass up.”
“No way.” He shook his head.
“Fine.” She grasped Olivia’s arm, pulling her to her feet. “You stay here, chickenshit. Olivia and I will go.”
Louisa marched toward the door, leading a bemused Olivia along in her wake. Growling in resignation, Jake hauled himself out of the worn leather chair.
“I just know I’m going to regret this,” he complained as he followed them out of the room.
Olivia pulled on her coat and her aunt’s gardening boots that had been left in the adjacent mud room and were fortunately the right size. Grabbing a couple of flashlights, she followed Louisa and Jake out the back door.
The three of them trotted down the steps and headed toward the edge of the woods. They’d barely made it to the tree line when the alcohol caught up with them, and Olivia and Louisa began giggling like a couple of kids.
“I have a bad feeling about this,” Jake muttered under his breath.
“Oh my god,” Louisa huffed dramatically. “Quit your bitching, you’re the one with the gun and the badge.”
Suddenly, Louisa skidded on a patch of wet leaves and grabbed onto Olivia, making her lose her balance. Clutching each other they both went down in a tangle of limbs and uncontrollable hysterics on the muddy ground.
Shaking his head and sighing in exasperation, Jake reached down and scooped the pair of them off the ground with an ease that proved the muscles he’d acquired over Olivia’s absence weren’t just for show. “I really think we should head back to the house.”
“Whatever, Dad.” Louisa snorted as they began walking again, delving further into the dark woods.
“God, what is that smell?” Olivia covered her nose at the sudden rancid odor.
“Nice, Jake,” Louisa hissed in disgust.
“Hey, that wasn’t me,” he replied with an indignant huff. “Smells like a dead animal. You’d better watch where you step,” he warned.
“Yeah, yeah,” Louisa mumbled.
“Come on,” Olivia interrupted the bickering siblings. “It can’t be much further.”
“Fine.”
“Aw, come on, Jake, it’s not like we’re gonna get lost or anything.” Olivia laughed as she walked backward, her flashlight highlighting Jake’s frown. “After all, we know these woods like the back of our han—”
The rest of her sentence was cut off by a small yelp and a whoosh of air as her heel caught and she stumbled, falling backward, and landing with a thud in something wet and slimy.
“What the hell?” Olivia gagged violently, the smell from earlier hitting her full force. Fumbling with her flashlight to see what she’d fallen in, a scream tore from her throat as the beam of light fell across the mangled remains of a human corpse.