Page 4 of Familiar of the Witch

I grimaced. ‘If he’s guarding me, who is guarding Willow? Get some of the enforcers on the guard rotation. We can’t afford to have the Council members vulnerable to attack.’

Kass shook her head in disbelief. ‘I can’t believe you’re worrying about them when they’ve arrested you. This is all Seren’s doing. We all know you’re innocent but she’s convinced everyone that a trial will clear you, that it’s in your best interests.’

She bit her nail then went on. ‘It took me ages to find you here – in the dungeons, of all places! It’s an outrage! I tried to get you moved but, given the late hour when you arrived, that was nixed. Listen, I overheard Seren talking to someone and she said she had more charges to level at you. I don’t know what they are. Any ideas?’

I smiled ruefully. I run a secret clinic and give away healing for free, I’m involved with a circus that helps people escape the yoke of the Connection, and I possess a sentient grimoire. All three are highly illegal and I wondered which one Seren had discovered. My money was on the clinic because I’d recently turned up there with Bastion on my heels and he was pretty well known. With hindsight that hadn’t been my wisest move, but I’d gone to the clinic onthe back of a really long day. Even I make mistakes now and again, but if Seren had her way that particular one might cost me everything.

I kept my self-recrimination off my face. ‘Some,’ I said simply. ‘How is Bastion?’

Kass winced. ‘He’s furious the Council won’t let him visit you.’ She paused. ‘Don’t take this the wrong way. I know you like him, but he’s a little scary.’

Calling Bastion a little scary was like calling a hurricane a light breeze. I shrugged. ‘He grows on you.’

Kass opened her backpack. ‘Here.’ She passed me a flask through the bars. ‘Hot chocolate.’ Next she pulled a Tupperware box out. ‘Some overnight oats. It’s not much, but it was all I could scrounge that wouldn’t be disgusting cold.’

My tummy gave a loud rumble as I gratefully took the box. ‘Thank you.’ I felt a lump in my throat; I’d never had someone come through for me like this before. There again, I’d never been arrested before either. ‘I appreciate it.’

Kass rubbed her wrists as if they were sore. Her fibromyalgia often flared up at times of stress making her joints ache. Having me arrested and thrown in jail was probably a bit stressful for her, too. I grimaced. That was another thing to lay at Mack and Seren’s doors.

I ate as quickly as I could with my hands bound in front of me in the damned cuffs. The smell of food had made me realise I was incredibly hungry. I painstakingly took the lid off the hot chocolate thermos – tricky in cuffs – but when Kass tried to help me, I shot her a glare. I needed to do this for myself.

She waited until the lid was off then held out a mug for me to pour it into. It was a white mug and even in the poor light I could make out the words scrawled across it:This too shall pass.I took a deep breath. Damn right. Everything is transient: the good, the bad and the ugly. This was the latter, but it would pass.

I poured the hot chocolate into the mug, then gave her the flask and lid so I could seize the mug instead. I wrapped my fingers around it, luxuriating in the warmth that spread through my fingers, and took a tentative sip. It was the perfect temperature. It warmed me up in more ways than one. ‘Nice hot chocolate,’ I complimented her.

‘Bastion made it for you. He melted in some chocolate flakes.’

The rock in my throat was back. Bastion had sent me hot chocolate. No doubt he was the one behind the mug too. Not too long ago, I’d been a tea girl but when I’d been poisoned through a cup of tea, my drink of choice hadbeen shelved. One day it would be dusted off again but not yet. In the meantime, I’d adopted hot chocolate.

‘Pass him my thanks, won’t you?’ I tried to keep my voice level but it wobbled a little.

Kass tried to lighten the mood. ‘Do you want me to pass him anything else?’ She twitched her eyebrows, trying to get me to laugh.

I managed a smile. ‘No thanks.’

Why hadn’t I kissed Bastion in the last five days? I should have done it when we were being guarded in Rosie’s while I re-charged. With other guards around, that had probably been the closest to relaxed that I’d seen him. I should have kissed him then, but I’d chickened out.

Instead, here I was in a jail cell pondering my few regrets. Not kissing Bastion was one of them – the main one, really. I supposed it was a good thing that, at this stage of my life, I’d come to realise that regrets weren’t all that much help. Do, or do not. Don’t regret. Except kissing Bastion, I regretted not doing that. There was something between us that deserved exploration.

I contemplated giving Kass a message for Bastion, but none of my half-formed thoughts did justice to the maelstrom in my heart. I struggle at the best of times to vocalise my feelings, and this wasn’t the best of times.

‘Just tell him to make sure he has back-up video footage of Hilary’s confession ready.’ I had no doubt the original footage would ‘accidentally’ go walkabout if Mack had his way.

‘Already on it,’ she promised.

I passed Kass the empty Tupperware and flask. Regretfully, I also passed back the empowering mug. ‘We’d better not leave any evidence of your visit. Thanks for coming, Kass. I really do appreciate it.’

‘What are friends in high places for if not for visiting you when you’re in dire straits?’

I cut off the ‘getting you out of trouble in the first place?’ comment that wanted to slip out. Kass was new to the Council and it was run democratically. Mack was Tristan’s guard so Tristan was clearly against me, and Seren had hated me since we were kids. I hoped the others were being washed along with some ‘good intentions’. I’d have to remind them all that while goodintentionspave the path to hell, it is goodactionsthat count. Hopefully the trial would put an end to the whole sordid mess.

I studied my tired friend. ‘How are you, Kass?’

She looked at me, startled. ‘I’mokay. I’m not the one in a jail cell.’

‘You were rubbing your wrists. Flare up?’

She sighed. ‘Yeah,a little.’ She was downplaying it; she was holding herself stiffly and I could tell she was in pain.

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