Page 16 of Home Is Where the Witch Is
CHAPTER SIX
The moodin the room had gone from tense when Medea performed, to entertained when Alain had stepped up to his mark. Aata had kept the crowd enthralled, and Tya had left everyone quiet and contemplative in a state of awe. Even Chaoxiang seemed pensive as he announced a one-hour recess for the candidates to regroup and the crowd to stretch their legs. As people began to filter out of the main factory area, Rosie slipped her hand into Declan’s and drew him away from the crowd.
“I need to talk to you.”
“What’s wrong?” He gave his wife a concerned once-over. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine, I think.” Rosie tried to keep her expression light, and she deliberately didn’t look in the direction of any of the candidates or their followers. She didn’t want anyone to suspect what she was speaking to Declan about. “It’s Aata. He grabbed me before the second Ordeal began. I overheard him arguing with Tya about some kind of secret of his she was going to expose. And then he tried to tell me about it after she left, but it definitely came out as more of a threat.“
“What?” Declan’s eyes had darkened dangerously, his jaw tightening with anger.
Rosie repeated word for word what had happened behind the curtain at the snack table, right up until Chaoxiang had called Aata to his Ordeal and interrupted them.
“Seems like Aata needs a lesson in manners,” Declan growled in a low voice. “And I’m just the bloke to give it to him.”
“Don’t be stupid,” Rosie said with a roll of her eyes. While she was glad Declan always had her back, picking an all-out fight with one of the Council candidates in the middle of an election would be the worst thing to do. “We need to just keep this under our hats for now, but I definitely don’t wanna be in a position where he can get me alone again.”
“You two gonna join us for lunch?” Hella’s voice was light, but she was watching the pair of them from the top of the stairwell that led to the mezzanine.
“Be right there,” Rosie smiled, but Hella wasn’t anyone’s fool. She glanced between Rosie and Declan, her gaze shrewd.
“Mmhmm,” the tiny drag queen hummed, quirking a brow before she disappeared into the foreman’s room.
“I’ll be by your side from now on,” Declan promised.
Rosie took his hand with a grateful smile and let him lead her up the metal stairwell to the room where the other members of the Council had gathered for lunch.
“It’s gonna be a really close election,” Emperia said. The Arctic witch was relaxing in a chair by the door, as far away from the dusty-but-hot window as she could get. Despite the fact the whole building had been enchanted to run as though it had the world’s most efficient AC built into it, Emperia had also conjured a blanket of fluffy-looking snow that she had draped over her thin shoulders. Rosie shivered just looking at the chilly air rising from the garment, but had to admit that fashion magic was something she was keen to look into. Particularly if it could help with hot flushes.
“How d’ya figure?” Declan asked, helping himself to a plate of the food that had been put out for the Council Members’ lunch. “I feel like it’s lookin’ pretty clear-cut. Medea didn’t do herself any favors with her anti-creature talk, and Aata definitely comes across as a sore loser.”
“Maybe to you,” Emperia shrugged nonchalantly, “but it all comes down to the vote, which could be as simple as a popularity contest.”
“I hope Declan’s right,” Rosie asserted, wondering if she should bulk up on nibbles now to avoid the snack table later on.
“Of course you do,” Hella grinned cheekily, popping a piece of fresh watermelon in her mouth to punctuate her point.
“Whatever,” Rosie rolled her eyes good-naturedly at her friend. “I’d much rather there be two clear winners over the course of a weekend than have to spend weeks or months here debating and posturing.”
“Me too,” Dracula agreed. The immortal was pale and drawn; the effects that being coherent in sunlight usually had on him. But he seemed a little paler than usual to Rosie’s eye, and she had to wonder when he’d last had a meal himself. “I really enjoy the company of witches,” the vampire continued teasingly, “but your politics are exhausting. I’m more than ready to head back to Romania.”
“Thanks,” Rosie said dryly, a spark of amusement in her gaze.
“Welcome,” Dracula grinned, showing off his impressively pointed fangs.
The hourof freedom passed more quickly than Rosie had thought possible. Before long they were all gathered back on the main floor of the factory building, ready to continue with proceedings.
“Welcome back everyone,” Chaoxiang announced urbanely. “We will now head into our third segment—the Ordeal of Two Minds.”
It was clear most of the people in the room knew what this was, and it was just as clear from the whispers that it was something controversial. Rosie looked between Declan, who shrugged, and Hella, who grimaced. Rosie leaned closer to her friend for the details.
“They’s got to pair up and work together with their magic to solve a problem,” she scoffed. “Thisneverends well.”
Rosie could definitely see why not. Would they be paired up in accordance to which seat they were campaigning for? Medea wouldn’t be happy to paired up with Alain, and Aata probably wasn’t going to want to have to work with his rival either. She glanced at Chaoxiang, but the Chinese witch gave nothing away with his immaculate poker face as he held his hand up to silence the crowd.
“We will partner candidates by seat. Medea Florakis with Alain D’Louncrais, and Tya Yarran with Aata Taylor. The latter will take their Ordeal first. Please approach.”
Watching the pair of candidates weave their way through the crowd, Rosie caught Aata’s gaze as he got closer. He seemed to silently plead with her, his expressive brown eyes suddenly softer than they had been when he’d accosted her backstage. A slight frown creased her brow as she tried to figure him out. He’d seemed desperate, but she hadn’t been able to get past her own sense of danger. If he had concerns about something or needed to share private information, why didn’t he approach the Council officially?
