Page 18 of Enspelled

It was impossible to estimate her age before, but with the utter confidence in her voice, I realize I’m not dealing with a woman in her twenties. Between thirty and forty, if not older. Even if she doesn’t look it.

“You seem real sure of yourself,” I say, drawing my claws back for now. With the door closed, she’s trapped in here with me. “And I don’t see what that has to do with the souls inhabiting Briar.”

She raises her eyebrow. “You return to Madden Grove on a mission to avenge the deaths of your pack. Not a few days later, one of the few people who could have been responsible suddenly tucks herself away. Surely you see the connection there.”

I frown. “What do you mean, she tucks herself away?”

“No one knows where she is. No, that isn’t right. Only one person does. Or would.”

“And that person is…?”

“Her closest ally. Vera. She was at Layla’s house throwing clothes in a bag, and she left in a hurry.”

Was this who Bodie meant when he said someone was at Layla’s house? My eyes narrow. “You seem to have your eyes everywhere.”

Mara doesn’t even blink. “It’s a small town, and I’m a green witch. There’s little else to do but gossip.”

“I didn’t think you had any friends.” My gaze returns to the burn on her cheek. “And that you liked to keep covered up.”

“Some gossip is so juicy that people will even talk to me.”

I observe her in silence. There’s nothing she’s saying that doesn’t make sense, that isn’t logical. But maybe that’s the problem. It’s almost exactly what I want to hear, which is why I don’t trust it. Or her.

Bodie’s words when she intervened in my confrontation with Jonas ring in my ear.A witch helping a wolf? Unusual.

“Why not Diana?” I ask.

“She’s too much of an attention-seeker,” Mara smirks. “Or was.”

So, I guess the rumors about her death have already made the rounds.

I angle my head. “Explain.”

“Look at how she reacted when Briar blew up—”

“It wasn’t Briar,” I interrupt.

Mara blinks. “Then who—”

“Not important.” My tone dares her to ask again.

Proving she’s not suicidal, Mara clears her throat. “Someone blew her daughters to pieces, and the first thing she does is go right after the person she believes was responsible. Diana Calla was never sneaky. She was in your face, unapologetically so. If she’d been the one to kill your pack, there’d have been a reason why, and she’d have been shouting from the treetops about how powerful she was when she was done.”

I don’t want to believe her, but there’s a ring of truth to her words that makes it difficult not to. “Why didn’t you say this before?”

“Because I didn’t think of it before. It was only after Briar killed Diana, and Layla went into hiding, that I realized Layla must have been responsible.”

“What do you know about Briar killing Diana?” I demand.

It makes sense that the wolves would know, given that two of Liam’s packmates were present, but there were no other witches around other than Diana and Briar—and right now, whatever Briar is, she isn’t a witch.

Mara makes a sound of frustration. “Witches belong to a coven, where they connect on a level deeper than any wolf or human will ever understand. Magic links them together. You don’t kill a coven leader without the rest of the coven knowing about it.”

“But you just said you were a green witch. How would you—”

“I pay attention,” Mara interrupts, sounding bored by my question. “So when the elemental witches in town start closing their businesses and rushing off, I listen to what they’re whispering about.”

Just what we need. Elementals coming after us with murder in their eyes. Fuck.

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