Page 14 of Bewitched By the Wicked Witch
After a long moment where he inspected me, peeling back layers I wanted to keep hidden, he finally said, "Yes, then I think you are the perfect warlock for the job."
I finally looked past Dru Crowley to his office, something I usually did first. Then I saw it, a photo. Dru, another man with kind eyes and warm brown skin, and a little girl grinning with one tooth missing. Sage, in pigtails.
"He was my friend," Mr. Crowley said, following my gaze as he picked up the photo. For a moment, I witnessed a grown man go misty-eyed before he blinked it away. "And I think you will be the only one who will help his only child."
This was about Sage. The woman I still loved who hated me. But why?
"Her grandmother, Bertie Blackstone, stepped down as head of the town council a few years back. Sage, as I'm sure you know, has always been..." he trailed off, searching for the right word, "an unusual child."
I felt myself smile. Yes, she was unusual in all the best ways. Crowley shared my smile, mischief twinkling in his gaze. "No one knows this, not even her I suspect, but she's my goddaughter and I've been the worst godfather one can be."
I stayed silent, not judging. I'd done Sage wrong too.
"Recently, Old Hollows has had some missing girls. They say runaways, not from prominent families. I'm told they have shifter blood."
"What does this have to do with Sage?" I asked, leaning forward, my heart pounding.
"I'm getting to that," he said with mild exasperation, weariness showing in the dark circles under his eyes. "Sagehasn't made things easy for herself in that town with her magic. She's... well, she always had a dark sense of humor."
"When did things get bad? I remember them treating her poorly as a child, but she's an adult now."
"From what her grandmother told me, after she returned from college, she was different. No longer working to change people's opinions of her," he stated pointedly, his eyes narrowing on me.
"Then why send me?" I asked, though inside my heart was breaking as I remembered telling Sage we were over, watching her face crumble.
"Because, Mr. Renshaw, when we break something or someone, it's our responsibility to fix it," he glared at me.
"How do you expect me to do that?" I demanded, anger taking hold. "Do you think I wanted to hurt her?" My body tensed as that day hit me again like a freight train.
"I think we all make hard choices for those we love. But they're not always the right choices," he said, his expression softening. "I understand self-sacrifice and regret. I wasn't in this position five years ago. But I am now."
I stared at him, mouth falling open. He knew why I'd walked away. They'd conscripted me, forced me to choose between my service and Sage facing a trial by fire. I'd taken this job to save her from this very organization he now had power in.
His eyes flicked to the photograph again. "I can't get my friend back, but I can help his daughter." The mask slipped for a moment, showing a man tired and plagued with regret. "I have a proposal for you." He smiled warmly,placing the picture back on the shelf. "One her Uncle Dru should have done long ago."
I realized then from where I remembered him. He'd been the only person to speak out in defense of Sage and me at that high council meeting. I leaned forward. "I'm listening."
Six
Sage
Inside Hexes and Brews, Cosmo growled at Caroline, who stood next to us clutching a bouquet of winter herbs. She owned the flower shop up the street and specialized in herbs for any magical brew, but also loved pretty flowers. Her flower display was always an impressive bouquet, even in the winter months.
"Do us all a favor and try not to fall into a pile of lavender, Carol," he muttered under his breath, followed by a sneeze.
I glared down at him in warning. Cosmo had a tendency to get moody when he was hungry.
Caroline frowned at Cosmo, and in a moment of weakness I fell into old habits as I tried to look apologetic. But as her gaze shifted to mine, her lips pursed together into a tight line, then she wrinkled her nose, her lips curling up in disgust. Reminding me why I didn't care, I let my eyes harden to steel and my lips turned into adevious grin. "Careful now, he's famished. He might just gobble you up."
Cosmo, to his credit, took that moment to jump from my shoulders and grow to a bigger height. Cosmo was now as big as a panther as his starry night gaze settled on her. Then he growled loud enough to make her jump back a step and flinch. Her face drained of color as she kept her eyes pinned to the threat during her backward retreat, all the way until her back hit the door, and she rushed out with the door dinging at her exit.
I chuckled and scratched Cosmo behind the ears.
Another customer, an elderly woman I recognized as Mrs. Randolph, the teacher I'd, along with my entire class, turned into a frog many years ago, leaned close to another white-haired woman who looked like someone I recognized, but I didn't know her well. "There's that corrupted girl I told you about. Her gran is the greatest of our time. But that girl there is a bad apple," she muttered quietly, but not quite quietly enough.
I kept an eye on Cosmo, making sure his sensitive ears didn't catch it. His tail twitched in agitation. He'd heard.
"You think the rumors are true?" the other elderly witch asked. "Is she behind the disappearances?" The woman leaned in conspiratorially, though she made no effort to lower her voice or hide her stare in my direction as Mrs. Randolph whispered her response.
