Page 36 of Starlight Witch

“What makes you think that?” Bran asked.

“I’m pretty sure, by the look at the way the altar was laid out and by some notes I saw jotted on a piece of paper in there, that your father was trying to figure out how to disempower Theodosius so he could be studied without destroying him,” May said.

Grams nodded. “You could be onto something. The Witches’ Guild here is corrupt, but I don’t know if Malcolm knew that. My guess is that they probably promised your father that if he could find a way to harness Theodosius and essentially neuter him, then they would pay a great deal for the bottle and spirit.”

“And when my father couldn’t comply, when he couldn’t figure out the equation he was looking for, he was worried about the Witches’ Guild putting a whammy on him. Maybe they already paid him, and he spent the money and couldn’t pay it back?”

“I’m sure it was something like that,” Bran said. “The problem is now, we can’t leave this here for anyone else to find. So, what do you two suggest?” He turned to Grams and May.

Grams gave me another look. “We celebrate Thanksgiving as usual, and meanwhile I will try getting in touch with the Crown. I’ll ask if they can come pick up the bottle and the book. We need to keep this under wraps. Your mother needs to never know, and we need to seal up that room down there so that she can never find it. The energy has seeped into the walls. I will do my best to cleanse it, but it’s been there a long time, and energy has a way of imprinting itself in time and space.”

And with that, we agreed that we wouldn’t discuss any of this within the house, and filed back in. As we went to our beds, I couldn’t help but feel nerve-racked. I was grateful that Bree was sleeping with me tonight, because the last thing in the world I wanted was to sleep alone.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

The alarm went off at seven a.m.—far too early for my taste. But given it was Thanksgiving, we had a lot of cooking to do. At least we had prepared all the dishes we could in advance. I decided to go with comfortable, so I slipped into a pair of black jeans and a hunter green tank top. I draped a sheer black cardigan over the top, threaded a silver belt through the belt loops, brushed my hair into a ponytail and did my makeup. By the time I was done, Bree was awake and changing clothes.

“What did you think about last night?” she asked.

“Shush,” I warned her, giving her a shake of the head. “Not here.”

“Right, sorry.” Bree dressed quickly and we clattered down the stairs together, into the kitchen. My mother was eating a plate of bacon and eggs, and May was at the stove, making breakfast for everyone. Grams was trussing the turkey. It was a large bird, probably around twenty-four pounds, and it would take until late afternoon to cook. I gave her a kiss on the cheek, then kissed May. Bran was nowhere in sight.

“Where’s Bran? Is he still sleeping? And Aunt Ciara—when is she supposed to get here?”

“Bran’s asleep on the sofa, but I imagine he’ll be getting up shortly. He’s used to early mornings.” May handed me two plates, one for Bree and one for myself.

We took our places at the table with my mother. I leaned over and gave her a peck on the cheek. She returned it with a shy smile. There was something different about her this morning, I thought. But I decided to wait to find out what it was.

“Ciara will be here in about two hours. She’s dropping off some Thanksgiving baskets to a couple of people in town. She does that every year.” My mother waved her fork at me, then went back to her eggs.

At that moment, Bran entered the kitchen, yawning and rubbing his eyes. He leaned over to give me a kiss, then went over to the stove to hug his mother. She pushed a plate into his hands, then waved him back toward the table.

“I don’t suppose there’s any coffee to go with that?” he asked.

“The coffee pot seems to be on the blink,” my mother said. “I don’t have any instant, but your aunt is bringing her coffee pot with her.”

I groaned. “I can’t wait that long.” I turned to Bran and Bree. “After we finish breakfast, why don’t the three of us go out and bring coffee back for everybody? I want to take a look at the beach, too. It’s one place that I still love up here.”

I’d come a long way since I first left Port Townsend, but I knew I wouldn’t be going into town anywhere near the building in which the Butcher had trapped Rian and me. There were still too many memories left there. Sometimes you couldn’t shake the baggage, even when you’d rather travel with just a carry-on.

“Sure,” he said. “I wouldn’t mind taking a look at the Strait.”

Bree nodded, and we polished off our breakfasts.

Grams motioned for me to follow her out on the porch. She looped her arm through mine and we walked out to the mailbox, leaning against the fence.

“Later this morning, I would appreciate it if you would take your mother out for a walk. I want to call my contacts at the Crown, and I don’t want her finding out what I have to say to them. If you could keep her away for about twenty minutes to half an hour, I should be able to get through in that time.”

“What about Aunt Ciara?”

“I’m not worried about her. She seems to mind her own business for the most part.”

“All right, after we get back with the coffee, I’ll take one for the team and go out with my mother.” We headed back inside, where Bree and Bran were getting ready to leave. I grabbed my purse and keys, and after sliding on my jacket, we waved goodbye and headed out to the car.

Jamba’s Java was open, so we pulled through and I placed the order. “One quad-shot pumpkin spice latte with extra whipped cream, one triple-shot mocha, and one extra-large coffee with two sugars and cream. I’ll also take three double-shot lattes.” As I held out my credit card to her, I smiled at the woman behind the drive-thru counter.

Five minutes later we were at the beach. We walked out on the shore, under the silvery sky. Seagulls surrounded us, their calls haunting and melancholy in the autumn air. As we sat on one of the driftwood logs, I told them what Grams had asked me to do.

---