Page 25 of Midnight Rules
Chapter Thirteen
The college wasn’t very populated at that time of year. Only the students who took summer courses were there. Magic users still practiced their skills in the courtyard. A group stood near the fountain drinking coffee and chatting. A girl pointed to the sky. In an instant, a daisy landed in her hand as if it had always been there. She handed the flower to another girl, who blushed and took it with a smile.
“Wow. They’re using magic out in the open. That’s pretty bold.” Marric’s hand brushed Iven’s.
Iven wondered if Marric wanted to hold his hand. Instead of asking, Iven took Marric’s. He made sure his hold was loose, so Marric pull away if he wanted. But Marric smiled and laced their fingers together.
“Dinsmore College is warded and guarded against the unsuspecting. It caters to magic users, but there are other types of people going to school here, too.” Iven thought about saying something about Marric taking magic classes, but he didn’t want to assume Marric needed them. It was just that Iven could feel the pent-up magic within Marric waiting to get out. He doubtedMarric was aware of it. “The college has magic classes. Even those for dark magic users.”
Iven could feel Marric’s gaze on him.
“Are you implying something?” He was, but he didn’t want Marric to know it. He didn’t want Marric to think Iven had a judgement about his magical abilities. It was a sensitive subject for most magic users. Some saw ability level as weakness. Prejudice ran rampant. It was senseless and unfortunate, but prevalent. “I’m just saying Dinsmore College is a safe space for everyone. The acceptance bleeds into Fortune Falls.” Iven shrugged. “We have the occasional issue, but we’re more accepting than a lot of towns.”
Marric drew his eyebrows together. “I wonder if the same could be said for Timeston.” But it didn’t sound like Marric had to wonder. It seemed he knew the answer already.
“I know the sheriff is a magic user.” Timeston’s sheriff was a witch who belonged to the local coven in Timeston. His magic was powerful, which was why Timeston’s residents voted him as sheriff. But he had his own agenda, which impeded his ability to do his job.
“The coven has never accepted Tory, Emery, and me. But my mother was a part of it until she got with my dad.” Marric shook his head. “After her accident and Tory’s murder, the coven didn’t even give their condolences. My dad is still pissed about it.”
“I’m sorry for your mom and sister.” Iven wasn’t sure what had happened to Marric’s mother. He could find out easily and dig around, but he’d rather hear it from Marric.
He knew a bit about Tory’s murder. He suspected the crime was solvable, but Sheriff Mattson let it go cold for reasons Iven didn’t understand. It made Iven wonder if maybe the coven had something to do with it.
Marric lay his head on Iven’s shoulder. “Thanks. With my mom, I want to say it was a long time ago, but I still miss herevery day. It’s been difficult without her in ways I didn’t expect. With Tory, it’s been even harder because we don’t know who killed her. Dad is pissed at Mattson for not doing anything, but he can’t focus on it right now. Not with Emery and me being sick.”
“I’ve heard a bit about Tory’s murder.” He probably knew more about it then Marric. He could certainly find out what the cops in Timeston knew. “After we solve Hattie’s murder and figure out the cure for the curse, I’ll look into your sister’s case.”
Marric sucked in a breath. “Really?”
Iven nodded. It was the least he could do for Marric and his family. And Tory deserved to still be walking the earth, but the best Iven could do was help her find justice.
He had a ton of questions about Victoria Ransome and her last days on earth. He made a mental note to write them down so he wouldn’t lose the direction his thoughts were going regarding her case. He didn’t want to change the subject, but he wanted to know about the mom too. “Do you mind me asking what happened to your mom?”
Iven let go of Marric’s hand and wrapped an arm around his waist, pulling him closer.
“It happened five years ago. She was in the field checking fences. Someone had been cutting the wire. Three of our horses got out. Houdini wandered all the way to the neighbor’s property before we found him. It had been an ongoing problem for months, so we all took turns checking fences several times a day. All but Emery. She was too young at the time, although she could ride better than me even then.” Marric smiled as if the memory of his sister riding horses was a good one. “We found my mom in the back field. The coroner said she died of a broken neck. They called it an accident, but it seems wrong. My mom was an expert rider. No one was better than her. And Ginger, that washer horse, she was a cattle horse. The get-up-and-go type, but my mom was an ace at handling her.”
Iven’s inner investigator was tingling. It told him something about Marric’s mother’s death was as suspicious as the sister’s murder. But he wanted to hear Marric’s take on it. “So you don’t think it was an accident?”
“All I know is even if something spooked Ginger, Mom would have kept her seat.” Marric shook his head. “Ginger stayed with her, never leaving her side. The grass had been tall and hid her body. We wouldn’t have found her as quickly if not for the horse staying next to her the whole time.”
Marric seemed to suck in the emotion as if he didn’t want to let them loose while in a public setting. But there were hardly any students nearby and the few people who were around weren’t paying attention to them. Still, it was better for Marric if he allowed himself to cry.
When there was a little hiccup to Marric’s breath, Iven stopped walking and drew him over to a nearby bench. He pulled Marric onto his lap. Marric lay his head on Iven’s shoulder.
Iven conjured a dome around them so no one could see them. “You can feel your feelings now, honey. No one can see us.”
Marric buried his face in the crook of Iven’s neck. “You’llsee me.”
Iven rubbed Marric’s back. “There’s nothing wrong with crying.”
Marric tightened his hold around Iven as if wanting to get closer. “My dad is tough. He would never cry.”
“I bet he does.” Iven would bet Kinnison Ransome cried the day his mate died and especially after his daughter died. Maybe he cried with worry over Marric and his younger daughter. Iven would if he were in Kinnison’s shoes.
Iven would do everything in his power to find out what had happened to Marric and fix it before it was too late. But he’dlook into the mother and sister’s death for Marric’s whole family. Especially for Kinnison’s sake because he’d want someone to do the same for him. Kinnison deserved to know what happened to his family members.
Marric sniffled, so Iven pulled a travel pack of tissues out of his pocket and handed it to Marric.
