Page 37 of Magic Blooms
“Sit down now,” Joshua growled in my ear again, but I shook him off.
“Progress should never require the loss of innocent life. How can any of you trust her after what she’s done? Why would you want to leave your fate to someone who is most definitely dripping in evil?” I demanded, charging the stage now, prepared to take Fawn down even if she’d somehow convinced everyone else she was in the right.
Not me. I knew better.
Joshua’s strong arms wrapped around me from behind. The room fell completely silent as he picked me up and dragged me back to our seats.
"Will you just shut up already?" he ground out between clenched teeth.
“The matter has already been decided, so I expect no further protests,” the chairman said, smiling broadly at everyone in the room except me.
Fawn left the stage and ventured out into the aisle, approaching me as she spoke. “With Karen’s sacrifice, I now have everything I need to complete the ritual. And it needs to be tomorrow, on the day of the full moon, for my magic to be at its strongest. The ritual when completed will reveal all your town needs to know to prevent this unimaginable prophecy from coming to pass.”
“Tomorrow all will be clear,” the head councilman affirmed with a tight nod. “Until then, Fawn will need a place to stay. Lorraine, I expect you have an empty room or two available at your inn?"
My heart dropped to the floor as Lorraine nodded her agreement. While not losing her business was definitely a relief, I wasn’t sure the actual outcome of this meeting was much better.
Whatever the case, it looked as though the murderer and I were going to be housemates.
And we both also had the full moon as our deadline to finish things in Elyria.
sixteen
Once the council meeting ended, the people from the audience formed small groups all around the large spacious room. The council members dismissed themselves and exited via a door tucked into the back corner, possibly one that led to a smaller, more private setting.
Joshua yanked me to the door, pushed me outside, and then dragged me over to Old Sparky.
“That was not okay,” he seethed, once we were both securely fastened into our seatbelts. “That outburst of yours could have cost Lorraine dearly.”
“What do my actions have to do with Lorraine? I make my own decisions.”
“Yeah, well, maybe consider others a little more before making the next decision. You’re here as her guest. As far as everyone knows, you’re her niece, even. If you cause trouble, she’ll be the one to get punished for it.”
I shut my mouth at that, no more arguments from me. As much as I hated what was happening here, I couldn’t let Lorraine take the fall for my disrespecting authority. No matter how wrong they were in their decrees and decisions.
“I don’t want Lorraine to get hurt,” I murmured as Joshua eased the vehicle out of the parking lot.
“I know you don’t,” he said tenderly, even though his jaw was still set like granite.
“But I also can’t stand back and do nothing. That woman—Fawn—she killed Karen Harrison, and she doesn’t even feel bad about it. What if she kills again in the name of her self-assigned mission to save magic?”
“I don’t know.” Joshua kept his eyes glued to the road ahead. “I really don’t know.”
“In it to the end?” I asked hopefully, reminding him of our promise from the night before.
“Polly, things are way more complicated now,” he said with a sigh. “I don’t know if?—”
“In it to the end?” I demanded, sharper this time.
“Maybe,” was the most he’d commit to now.
We rode the rest of the way in silence with me becoming more and more irate by the minute. If he didn’t even plan to talk to me, then why hadn’t he let me ride home with Lorraine instead?
We reached Fox’s End before Lorraine. Perhaps she’d hung back to chat, but how she could act so casually with Fawn’s upcoming stay, I just couldn’t understand.
“I’ll put the coffee on.” Joshua crossed the kitchen like he owned the place.
I glared at him, still too angry to speak, as I took a seat at the knotted wood table.
