Page 46 of Home Is Where the Witch Is
Ivy raised a dark red eyebrow. “I think you’ll find we do,” she said, before her gaze flicked to Chaoxiang. “Aata is telling us to check her bag.
With no further ado, the tall Chinese witch stepped forward to hold his hand out for the bag slung over Medea’s shoulder, but Medea snatched it back.
“I’m not giving you my bag!”
Chaoxiang’s expression flattened. “By order of the Council of Witches, you must turn over your bag to me immediately.”
“No!” Medea said, the last note turning shrill as Dracula stepped forward to hold Medea forcibly still while Chaoxiang took the bag. “Get off me, you disgusting thing! Let go of that! You have no right to take my personal belongings!”
“Actually, we do when we believe they will aid in an investigation. Isn’t that right?” Chaoxiang looked to the other Council members for consensus.
“That is correct,” Rosie agreed, narrowing her eyes at Medea.
Chaoxiang opened the bag and turned the contents out onto the middle of the table. Along with the usual things a woman might be carrying in her purse—a perfume roller, some gum, a lipstick, and her wallet—there was also a crumpled piece of paper that had been wadded into a ball.
“Taniwha are creatures unlike any other,” Ivy said, standing and walking around the table so she could eye the contents of the bag up close and personally. “Existing between the spiritual and physical realms, they can easily see those who also may not be strictly mundane.” She reached for the ball of paper. “Which is why Aata chose to show you this, isn’t it Medea?”
Medea struggled in Dracula’s grip, but resistance against the immortal was futile.
“What is it?” Rosie asked, watching Ivy carefully uncrumple the document.
“It’s an arcane patent of lineage,” Ivy explained, laying the paper flat on the table and gently smoothing it out with the flat of her palm. “A paranormal pedigree, sort’ve.”
The penny dropped for Rosie, and felt her eyes grow wide with surprise. “Are you saying..?”
Ivy nodded. “Somewhere down the line, one of Medea’s great-great-great ancestors wasn’t totally human.”
“That piece of paper doesn’t prove anything!” Medea spat, trying to wrench her arm free from Dracula. “He could have doctored it, for all I know!”
“You’re right. Hecouldhave,” Ivy agreed pleasantly. “But just having it in his possession was enough to make youverynervous, wasn’t it, Medea? What were the terms? Did he threaten to expose you? Step down from the election and he would make it go away?”
“Neither,” the Greek witch growled, her eyes darker with each passing second. “It’s just a piece of paper.”
“Paper worth murdering for,” Rosie said sadly.
“I didn’t murder him!”
“Then explain to us how it came to be in your possession when our witness saw him heading to his room with it just before he was murdered,” Chaoxiang asked, his face like stone. “And why, when questioned about your whereabouts at the time of the murder, your advisor lied to us.”
“He—he couldn’t have lied,” Medea stammered, her confidence starting to crack. “I was there at the time.”
“Then you won’t mind us performing a Calling,” Hella interjected, with a glance at Chaoxiang and then Rosie.
“Right now?” Medea’s eyes were wide, the color draining from her face.
“Right now,” Rosie affirmed. “Unless your lawyer objects.” The man who'd entered with Medea had been looking at his client in abject horror for the past three minutes. When he was mentioned, he made eye contact with Rosie and gave a short, sharp nod. Rosie lifted her chin. “Then we’ll proceed.”
Joining hands, the Council gathered their arcane energy and combined it. A single strand of pure, glistening energy emerged from the center of the group, fluttering in the air as though it were underwater. It grew longer, twirling across the room until it reach Medea.
She tried to shoo it away before it managed to envelop her, folding her into its softly glowing aura before it started to pull on the threads of her most recently cast spells. They stretched away from her before snapping off, growing until they were fully formed magical memories. Rosie was utterly fascinated by the process. It was like looking at magical browser history, and she could imagine it would coming in really useful while raising a bunch of teenagers.
One by one the spells floated higher into the air above Medea, laying out her casting for all to see. A salt cleansing charm. A protection spell. And then, most recently, a blood cleansing spell. She looked up at the evidence of her actions, before turning her stricken gaze back to the Council.
“That’s a whole lot of cleansing and protection for someone with nothing to hide,” Emperia said stoically. “I don’t know whether to be annoyed that you think we’re stat stupid or flattered that you think the Council’s magic is higher than the laws of witchkind. A calling wouldn’t have shown us the spell you used to kill Aata—not after the initial cooling-off period was over. But this Calling can show us you were worried enough to try hiding it anyway.”
For a moment, no one spoke. And then Chaoxiang cleared his throat.
“Medea Florakis, you will be imprisoned for the murder of Aata Taylor.”
