Page 44 of Livewire Witch

“Tell me again what you’re doing here so late? You know not to hang around anywhere when it’s this time of night, especially not on your own.” I feel like his mom scolding him for staying out past curfew.

“I’ve been doing a little extra work for the boss man over the past few weeks,” Ember says with a flick of his head toward Fabian. “He’s got me listening in on conversations. Keeping an ear out just in case anyone tries to blow you guys up again. I’m his little spy.”

Wow, so he’s really thrown away his self-imposed ban on using his magic. Usually, Ember only uses it with me, and only when I’m in a hairy situation. I’m always the one to initiate contact.

And yet, here he is, listening in to strangers’ internal thoughts and desires like it’s not a gross invasion of their privacy.

“You’re all right with that?” I ask him.

He leans heavily against the counter that usually houses sandwiches and pastries. “I decided, just because other assholes are scared of my magic, doesn’t mean it can’t still be useful. Maybe if I’d had an ear to the ground, you might not have gotten nearly blown up. Or I might have had a better idea of what Felix was up to. Seb’s a good kid and he doesn’t deserve that dickhead coming after him.”

I squeeze Ember’s hand and stare at him, taking in his appearance. He’s looking tired. His red hair is limp and looks like it needs a wash.

“When was the last time you slept? Are you looking after yourself?”

“I told you, Silv, I’m a working man now. Kinda weird hours at the minute, which is fucking with my sleep cycle, but all the weirdest shit happens at this time of night. Witching hour, baby.”

When I continue to peer at him in concern, like I can peel back his layers and soothe the guilt that’s clearly set off his newfound desire to use his magic, he just scoffs and pulls me into a hug.

“I’ll head home to sleep in a minute. I just figured you guys would want to see the bodies first.”

Bodies?

13

Silver

“The what?” Zeph growls, sending a rumble of thunder through the air.

“Yeah, so I was just doing my thing, having a quick listen to people’s internal broadcasts. Spoiler alert, most people are crazy boring,” Ember says with a roll of his eyes. “There were a few customers that were chuntering to themselves since they don’t really like you guys, but they weren’t going to do anything about it. Mostly, they seemed pissed about how much we’re charging for those chocolate filled croissants.”

“Good to know.”

“And... the bodies?”

“Right, yeah. Them. Let me show you.”

He guides us back through the kitchen to a door that leads into an alleyway that sits right behind the cafe. It’s one that’s not visible from the street and the buildings on either side leave it pitch black. Fabian whips out his cell phone flashlight and I summon a tiny fireball, which I hold up high to improve visibility.

There, in the middle of this damp alleyway, three slumped figures lie, their limbs intercrossed like they all collapsed into a heap together. Two are female and the third is male. They’re dressed in pretty fancy gear. Jeans that look to be designer, now smeared in mud and alley muck. Skimpy tops that show a bunchof cleavage. The male is wearing a kind of shiny shirt and a thin jacket.

“Right, so those are definitely bodies,” I say.

“Dead?” Roscoe asks.

Ember snorts. “Unless they’re sleeping super heavily, I’d say so.”

Fabian steps closer. “All dead.” He frowns down at them and I can feel from the little tug in my gut that he’s using his magic. “There’s something weird about their blood, though.”

“Like they’ve been poisoned or something?”

He shakes his head. “More like they don’t have much left in their systems.”

Zeph strides up and down the alleyway, avoiding the bodies but clearly looking for something. “Maybe they weren’t killed here. This is just the dump sight. There’s no sign of blood anywhere.”

“I’ll set up an illusion so no one stumbles this way and comes across them before we work out what to do with them,” Roscoe says.

I don’t know exactly what’s happening here, but both Z and Roscoe seem to have morphed into sexy detectives. I have to say; I amherefor this latest development. Not so keen on the bodies being dumped outside my friend’s place of work, but that’s another matter.

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