Page 22 of The Fearless Witch

“The only thing we don’t know is why,” Lily continued while he offered me the delicate cloth, casually patting the edge of his lips. “We know they want Celeste, but the hunter tried to kill her while Mariam wanted her alive, which makes no sense. It is possible that he acted on his own and they disagree on things, which is something we can exploit but also…”

I ran my tongue over the spot he indicated and when I tasted blood, I accepted the handkerchief and pressed it to my mouth. Red smeared the pristine fabric and the metallic smell intensified.

“Any luck?” he asked so quietly, I doubted Lily even heard him. If the others did, they didn’t show it.

“Not yet,” I replied through gritted teeth. “Did you manage to contact him?”

Malakai shook his head, his smile faltering a bit. His eyes remained on Lily, who had stopped to catch her breath, but I could feel his attention on me.

“He doesn’t use a phone and I’m not aware of him having a residence in this world. I can’t visit the places he frequents since we are locked out of the city, and I can’t use the resources of the grove to contact him by other means.” He explained in a single breath. “But I have a theory about why he might have taken her.”

Without meaning to, I sat up straighter, looking at him expectantly. He tore his eyes away from Lily to meet mine, his expression turning serious.

“The more deals a demon makes, the stronger they get—Beleth told me that. However, not all deals are equal. The stronger the soul owner, the bigger the power they give to the demon they have made a deal with.” I frowned, trying to rein in my impatience. I didn’t care how demons got their power or what they did with it, I cared about how that affected Celeste. “Humans have little magic, so a demon needs a lot of deals with them to make him strong. A supernatural being willing to part with their soul, however… like the oldest witch in the world…”

My lips parted in shock while I stared at the Fae with disbelief.

“Demons are inherently selfish, even the best of them. The only reason Beleth would have to protect a living being is to protect himself.” I knew what he was going to say next even before he spoke, but it still irked me for not figuring it out earlier. “I believe he was the demon Celeste made her deal with. I believe…” He licked his lips, smiling again, although I found nothing good or even slightly amusing about it. “...she is the source of his power, so he took her to keep her safe from the dangers that plague her here.”

It was an effort not to gape. Demons kept their secrets better than anyone else, and for Beleth to share that with him… it must have meant they were close, closer than I realized. But if Malakai’s words were true…

“She’ll be safe with him, Roman,” he said gently, touching my shoulder, and that was enough to snap me out of my thoughts. “If Celeste cannot raise a hand against the Castle bloodline like Lily said, then she is defenseless against them. So instead of focusing all your efforts on getting her back, maybe you should focus on making it safe for her here.” I gritted my teeth at the insinuation but chose not to answer. Especially with everyone in the room. “This way, Beleth will not have a reason to keep her in Hell.”

“You think he’ll just let her come back?” I frowned. If what he was saying was true, he must have had a reason for taking her other than keeping her alive. He hadn’t cared if she lived or died for two thousand years, so to interfere now… he was up to something. Everyone was up to something, it seemed.

“Beleth doesn’t like people invading his personal space, so I’m pretty sure he’s more eager to return her than you think,” Malakai continued, pulling me out of my thoughts. “And Celeste isn’t exactly the type to sit still and be quiet, so her ‘release’ from Hell depends on how fast we can take care of things here.”

I was just nodding when Kevin shouted in alarm. His hurried steps and labored breathing had me lunging from my chair, ready to fight, but then I noticed he was kneeling next to the board… and holding Lily’s limp body. Isaac reached them first, checking her pulse and her eyes while the others stared at them in confusion.

“She is alive, but barely,” Isaac announced as I crouched beside them. I studied her carefully, but nothing had changed since I entered the room. I knew that humans were fragile and even the smallest illnesses could affect them, but the doctor assured me she was fine. She didn’t look fine. What was I missing? “What is wrong with her? She looks like a walking corpse since the last time I saw her!”

“The doctors cleared her and said it was a common cold,” I replied when I pulled my hand from her neck. Her pulse was weaker than usual, her breathing shallow but unimpeded. I didn’t want to bite her in front of her father to test her blood for poison, but I couldn’t think of anything else at the moment. But who would poison her and why only her?

The door to the library flew open, slamming into the wall with such force that the bookshelves rattled. Alice stormed inside with a face even paler than Lily’s, her eyes immediately finding the human girl even though Kevin and Isaac stood in the way. Panting heavily, she took a step toward us but then stopped when I snarled.

The rage that appeared on her face reminded me so much of her brother when he was trying to kill Celeste that I bared my fangs at her.

“Alice!” Isaac’s voice was ringing with warning, but when he grabbed my arm and squeezed, I realized it wasn’t just for her. “We talked about this. You can’t—”

“She is dying!” Alice cried out, tearing her gaze away from me to look at her brother. “I can feel it! If you don’t let me check on her, she will die today. And so will I!”

Kevin let out a choked sound, staring at her with such unbridled horror that I felt bad for him.

“You can approach,” he said before I could speak, stepping aside to make space for her. “Please, help her! I can’t watch another child die!”

Alice didn’t wait for my permission as she kneeled on the ground, reaching for Lily’s face with trembling hands.

“Try anything and I’ll snap your neck,” I warned her in a voice too low for Kevin to hear. She only glared at me before touching Lily’s forehead, then her neck and wrists. Her frown deepened as she set her hands over Lily’s chest and abdomen, moving them along her skin like she was searching for something. It felt like the whole room had stopped breathing until she suddenly gasped.

“She’s hexed.” Alice’s trembling grew more pronounced and just when I was going to tell her to move back, she scooted away, wrapping her arms around herself. Her brother followed, rubbing her back until she calmed herself enough to stop the shift.

I used the time to study Lily closer, searching for any traces of magic on her, but I felt nothing. Her mark had disappeared like mine and Isaac’s, but that hadn’t worried me too much because she hadn’t left the house. Aside from that, I couldn’t see anything different about her.

“How do you know?” Kevin asked in a small voice, his fingers tightening around his daughter’s much smaller hand. “Please, can something be done? How could we have missed this?”

His eyes turned to me in desperation, but I had nothing to say to him. I hadn’t noticed, I wasn’t sure I even believed it, not until Alice picked up Lily’s hand and turned it over.

“Look at the discoloration,” she whispered, running her fingers over the tips of Lily’s chewed-out nails where the skin had turned dark green. “And here.” She set Lily’s hand gently on her stomach and reached for her face. Pressing a finger on her lower lip, she pulled it down to show the same green tint on her gums. “If we check deeper into her mouth, her throat would be the same color. Cut her hand deep enough and you’ll see her veins are turning green too.”

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