Page 26 of Bitten By Desire

“I learned a few tricks from Gerard over the years,” she said with a smirk and a faraway look. “I managed to take a few samples when I followed through the portal. I suppose it was foolish, but I thought maybe it would help me defend myself if ever I needed to.”

“How could you possibly walk right through to the lab and out again without notice?” I demanded. We’d barely escaped with our lives and Binx was still there. What happened to him during the day when the charms Zoe had made wore off? I bit the inside of my cheek.

Lorraine stood tall and turned to me. “I have an invisibility spell I use that my mother taught me. I was never very talented at magic, but I know undetectable well.”

I’d never heard of that spell. Then again, I never really studied many specific ones since we’d learned early on my magic lay in the psychic realm and not typical witchcraft.

“Where is Binx?” she asked, looking around as though she expected him to appear in the middle of the room.

“He’s been captured,” Julian said. “By MorningStar. They rigged your husband’s study with a spell, and when we searched it, they came for us.”

Lorraine’s eyes opened wide as she let out a gasp. “I didn’t know.” She sat heavily on the bed. “Maybe I can help. I can go back in and get him if I use the same spell?”

I grabbed hold of Lorraine’s arm and turned her to face me. “Are you playing us?”

“What? No! I want to help.”

Dropping her arm, I backed up against Julian. I’d used my magic. She wasn’t lying.

“We can’t let you go in,” Julian said as he gripped my shoulders. “We appreciate the offer of help, but it’s too dangerous. We will reach out to trained operatives and secure his release. I promise you.”

Lorraine’s fingers twisted together as she worried her lip between her teeth. “I feel responsible. Do you think they’re the ones that killed Gerard?”

“No,” I said, surprising myself at my certainty. “They wouldn’t have killed him. I know how Honeywell works by now. She likes to torture information out of people. Your husband’s death was…gruesome, but not prolonged.”

She nodded and moved toward the doorway. “I’ll have some coffee and light lunch brought to the sitting room. You must be famished.”

My stomach rumbled in response, and we followed her down to the room where the fairy had died. Not a drop of blood stained the thick cream carpet. But it was a new servant, a young woman, who brought in the trays of small sandwiches and coffee. I wondered what had happened to the old man who’d been glamoured.

“Have you seen any more strangers?” Julian asked, taking the delicate cup filled with coffee from her hands.

“No, though I admit I haven’t really left the house since that night.”

“You weren’t home when we came in before dawn,” I said through a mouthful of cucumber and cream cheese.

Lorraine looked up, surprised. “I was asleep in my bed. Go ahead and ask me officially if you must.”

I did. But she gave the same explanation. Julian and I exchanged glances.

“We must have not seen you under the covers,” Julian said with a dazzling smile. It was one I knew to be fake, and I made a mental note to speak to him about it later. Something was not right with Lorraine, but I trusted my magic and she hadn’t tried to harm us. If anything, she’d helped us out by delaying SHADE’s investigation…

“Will you stay with me for protection?” she asked, leaning forward toward Julian and batting her fake eyelashes.

“I will have to provide someone else, Madam. I’m afraid our presence is needed elsewhere until we secure Binx’s release.”

Lorraine’s head drooped.

“It shouldn’t take long,” Julian promised. “Would you mind if we took another look at the portal through the study?”

“Of course not. Please help yourselves to whatever you need.”

I smiled as though I thought nothing of her obvious flirting and accompanied Julian toward the study.

“How do we disable the alarm that warns MorningStar?” I asked before we entered.

Julian contemplated the seemingly innocuous room. But before he spoke, the doorbell sounded. We all turned to find the young servant woman opening the large oak doors, and a familiar voice carried through the hall.

“Tittwell and the lieutenant are here to see the widow. The general has requested we check on her welfare because she did not sound herself when they spoke this morning.”

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