Page 28 of Brimstone and Broomsticks
“It’s not us. I would have recognized the energy.” Bronwyn scowled. “I’m not going to definitively rule out another witch, but this magic feels different. I mean, another family of witches might not have the same magical feel as ours, but I get the impression whoever did this isn’t human. I could be wrong, though.”
Bronwyn was seldom wrong. “Okay, so what supernatural beings have magic?”
She shrugged. “Fae, obviously. Elves, fairies, pixies, nymphs—although they don’t like to roam more than a hundred yards from any body of water. Maybe one of the pixies? I could see this as a prank gone wrong.”
I nodded. Poor Sheriff Oakes spent more time running around after pixies then he probably wanted. I felt a wee bit guilty at the thought. The guy reallywasoverworked. It’s a wonder he didn’t quit. I’m sure it wasn’t an easy job trying to maintain some sort of law and order in a town full of supernatural beings.
That should have been my job. Well, helping him should have been my job. But damn it, why should the circumstances of my birth, something completely out of my control, pigeonhole me into a lifetime of work? For once in my damned life, I wanted to be in control of my destiny instead of doing what everyone expected me to do, instead of picking up the pieces my careless mother had abandoned. I’d already raised the children she’d left. I’d done enough of her job.
Yes, it was all about my mother. A therapist would have had a field day with me.
“Fae or an outside witch. Either an accident or for some reason.”
“Let’s think about possible reasons,” Bronwyn said. “The wards are powerful but limited in scope. Either someone wanted to let a newb out of town with his or her memories intact, or someone wanted to have the supes inside the town limits at full power.”
I nodded. The wards dampened the power of those who lived inside, to keep the peace. But there was one issue with that theory. “The effect would have been temporary. Full power for what? An hour at most until we got here to fix the ward?”
“Sounds unlikely,” Bronwyn agreed. “It’s probably pixies goofing off and accidently blowing a hole in the wards.”
“Or someone wanted Lucien to leave with his anklet on and his memory intact.”
I reached forward and took the coin from Bronwyn’s handkerchief-covered hand. She gasped, then stared at me open-mouthed.
“Damn it, Cassie! Don’t just go grabbing magical items! That thing is cursed. I’ve got no idea what it is, but I’m glad you’re not a smoking pile of ash right now.”
I blinked at her in surprise, running my finger around the edge of the coin. “Cursed? I don’t feel one bit of magic from this thing. Are you sure?”
Of course she was sure. Bronwyn was rarely wrong.
“It’s dulled now that the ward is back up and it’s on the inside, but yes it’s magical. And no, it’s not the sort of magic that could blow a hole in the wards in case you were wondering.”
I had been. Actually, I’d been wondering something else. “The wards cover a huge span. It’s too much of a coincidence for this to be in the exact spot where a break was. I’m beginning to think a fairy or a pixie helped Lucien escape and he dropped the coin.” Something heavy settled in my chest at the thought. Why had he left? He hadn’t seemed all that eager to get out of town at the anger management meeting? Hadn’t he trusted me to keep him out of jail?
I thought he’d been sticking around more because of me than that anklet. Maybe I was wrong. Maybe I was just someone to flirt with until he could get the hell out of Accident and back to whatever life he had on the outside. Yes, we Perkins women were definitely cursed when it came to matters of the heart.
“Sheriff is going to be pissed,” Bronwyn told me.
“No one is going to care. Marcus said he was dropping the charges. The only issue is we’re out an enchanted anklet and there’s a newb running around with stories of trolls and cyclops and witches and werewolves.”
Bronwyn’s lips twitched. “A newb who tells everyone he’s the son of Satan. I’m not too worried everyone is going to believe him. And if the guy really is a demon, then he’s hardly going to go tattling on us.”
I flipped the coin in the air, catching it in my palm. “And what about this? It’s not just some kid’s game token from an amusement park according to you. Cursed?”
“Maybe it was cursed to make him think he was a demon, to make him crazy.” She grinned at me. “And it doesn’t work on you because you’re already crazy.”
I pocketed the coin and swatted at her. “Brat. Come on. It’s Friday night just shy of a full moon and I have half a pint of ice cream waiting for me at home.”
