Page 72 of With This Witch
“Your family hasn’t exactly been innocent in all of this. Pushing for you to take Premier Witch, threatening me and my family, and so on,” Petra says.
“I know, I know. That’s part of why I’m here. Honestly, I don’t want to deal with all the bullshit you have to do as a council member, and I don’t want the responsibility of Premier Witch. My parents have pushed for this because they want the prestige, and they think this is the only way to get it, to garner the power that comes with it. But I’m done playing their games.”
This is not what they anticipated from Sloan. Petra stands in disbelief, chewing on her bottom lip.
“Yeah.” Sloan laughs. Maybe he’s had Sloan wrong all these years. “Anyway, my family has been working with Grog, trying to replace the Roses as Premier Witch for years. They’ve done whatever they can to create animosity between our families and to feed stories throughout the community, creating mistrust in yours. I don’t want to be a part of that anymore. I’ve hated you most of my life, and I really don’t know why. So I’m here with some information and to help you claim your rightful title.”
Petra steps forward, cautiously reaching out to Sloan. She gently grasps Sloan’s hand, and he notices Sloan flinches slightly under her touch. “Thank you,” Petra says, “truly. I appreciate this more than you’ll ever know.”
Sloan genuinely smiles at Petra, making her appear kinder and less harsh around the edges. It may just be the witch lights, but Lachlan swears she sees Sloan glow just a little before the smile is quickly extinguished.
“So. Obviously, Grog has given you an ultimatum. But the bigger concern here is the whole community forum questioning your marriage now, and some other things have been happening, right?”
“Yes,” Petra responds, more enthusiastic than she thought she would be. “Francesca tried to bribe Lachlan, my tire was slashed, and the general animosity from Grog and his minions as he tries to undermine me every chance he can.”
“Yes. Grog is behind it all. From what I have overheard in my family’s conversations, he plans to overrule any positive response from the community. The forum is all a farce. He will use his power on council to negate any positive outcome.”
“Do you know why?” Lachlan asks.
“I know he has a history with your grandmother,” Sloan answers, nodding to Petra. “I don’t have many details on him since he’s pretty slick, and while my family has been involved, I’m often left out or given bare-bones details so that I can’t be implicated. All of that to say, that’s why no one has been able to connect it all to Grog. You may do well to talk with your grandmother and see what she can tell you for any next steps. And she’ll know proper protocols to follow.”
Lachlan tries to think through the various policies and protocols that he agreed to follow when he became a council member, but he draws a blank. He can’t think of a single policy they would be able to use against Grog.
“Okay. Okay,” Petra says, touching her chin with her index finger. He sees her mind at work as she closes her eyes, processing the information and trying to piece it all together to make sense of it. The crinkle of skin between her eyebrows means something isn’t quite right. She puts her hands down by her sides, opens her eyes and looks back at Sloan, breathing deeply.
“And you, master of shadows,” Sloan says, turning to face Lachlan.
“Yes?” He bristles as shadows appear to swirl at their feet.
“You may do well to use those connections of yours to see how Grog is connected to your world.”
“What do you mean?”
“His hands are dirty, and I know he’s somehow connected in the underworld and using that to his advantage in council proceedings. I’m sure it won’t take you long to figure out what he’s up to,” she explains.
“Noted.”
He knows she’s being vague on the details for a reason, leaving it up to them to do what they will with the crumbs she’s providing. But he would be lying if he said he didn’t think there was truth to what she was saying. He’s heard rumblings over the years but never looked into it. Maybe he should have.
“Anyway,” Petra says, her posture relaxing, “thank you. This is helpful. I need to call Gammy tomorrow. Is there anything else?”
“Keep it quiet. If Grog gets word that you are looking into him, who knows how dangerous he could get.”
Petra and Lachlan both nod. “I think it’s time we go,” Petra says to him.
He nods in agreement and then faces Sloan, trying to determine who she really is. She’s shown herself to be open and honest here tonight, but can they trust that this meeting won’t come back to bite them in the ass? Only time will tell, unfortunately.
“Thank you. If you need anything, you know how to reach me,” Lachlan offers. “I owe you one now.”
“Noted,” Sloan replies. The witch lights extinguish, and the door opens before them.
As they walk out, Petra whispers to Sloan, “Also, thank you for not killing us and leaving our bodies with your dead relatives.”
“It was a possibility, but I didn’t want to deal with the punishment that would come from that sort of embarrassment,” Sloan deadpans, turning on her heel and walking the opposite way from where Petra and Lachlan came in.
Lachlan laughs deeply. The sound billowing out of him in raucous waves. Tears are building at the corner of his eyes, which he wipes away with the side of his index finger.
Petra glares at him, not finding this as funny as he did. “Are you about done?” she asks, annoyance fully evident in her tense expression.
