The Mayhem Sisters (19 page)

D
rained, Vivi dragged herself upstairs to her apartment, slipped out of Clover’s dress, and collapsed onto her bed. She had hoped to go over her notes and piece together the events of the evening, but she hadn’t realized the toll the bracelet had taken on her until she woke up the next morning with glaring sunlight pouring through the curtain onto her face. A familiar beak tapped on the window, reminding her it was time to get out of bed. She jerked up, still groggy, her mouth dry and cottony.

“Rumor,” she croaked and stumbled over to the window to let him in. “I learned a couple new lessons yesterday. One—never wear jewelry from a weird genius. Two—snooping has its price.”

He flew to his perch, nodded his head and gave her a good morning squawk, which she took for him saying, “You’re a lucky witch. Now get going.”

Vivi showered, dressed, and headed over to Nocturnes. Just as she expected, the café was buzzing with activity. News traveled fast, and talk of the missing witch was on everyone’s lips. After grabbing a cup of coffee, she snagged a seat at the counter and sifted through the morning’s edition of
Witch World Daily
. A photo of Sabine Monroe stared up at her from the front page with the headline:
Missing witch identified, the search continues
. She scanned the article, but most of the contents she already knew. The police were asking for volunteers to search and distribute flyers. The search was a good start, but as she sipped her coffee, she couldn’t help but want to do more. Frustrated, Vivi knew that with her powerful
persuasion
she had to deliver results.
But how?

Arnica was stuffing a wicker basket with food—waxed paper-wrapped sandwiches, slices of cherry almond quick bread, and apples. She caught Vivi’s attention and said, “It’s for the volunteers. I want to do my part to help out.”

“I know the feeling. Hey, do you know when the teams head out and where they plan to search?” Vivi asked.

“Not exactly. I’ve overheard too many conversations today to give you an accurate location, but you could just ask the sheriff. He’s found a nook in the back. Been up all night and needed a little breakfast to get him going this morning.”

Vivi picked up her coffee and headed toward the rear corner of the room, curious to see how the investigation was going. Looking rumpled, Lance leaned his head against the side of a high-backed chair, eyes closed, hands folded over his stomach. The plate in front of him had been practically licked clean. She hated to disturb his sleep, but pulled up the chair next to him and sat down.

“Morning, Sheriff,” she said.

“Yep.” His eyes sprang open and he glanced at her without lifting his head. “Oh, it’s you. Hey.” He smiled. His uniform appeared clean enough, but from the state of his bloodshot eyes and general weariness, she doubted he’d slept much.

“I hear you had a long night.”

“And it just keeps going.” He stifled a yawn with an apologetic look as he begrudgingly sat up. “I suppose you’ve heard the news.”

“I’m here to help. I want to see this through.” Vivi sat on the edge of her chair.

“Volunteers are always welcomed.”

“The search is great. You’ll get dozens of volunteers. What else can I do? Have you questioned the Menders and Dr. Fowler? They must know something.”

“Even if I wanted to, I can’t share information on an active case with you. I’m sorry. However, I can tell you the Mender twins and Dr. Fowler have been more than cooperative.” He hunched over, elbows on knees with his head in his hands. “Just between you and me, besides the bracelet, I haven’t been able to link them with any of the victims. But the Hexers are in full swing. They’re practically running the show.”

“What about the tip? Has it helped find anything in the lab?” Vivi thought about the mysterious young wizard Paul.

“Nope. Tell me, what else do you know about that guy?”

“He’s hard to figure out—ambitious, awkward, and according to Dr. Fowler, he’s brilliant. He does freelance research and brings his results to Mender Corp, but he doesn’t work in-house, from what I know. I saw him give a paper to the doctor the other day. I think it was data on some tests he’s doing, but I’m not sure. He’s a fan of
The Spellbinder Series
.” Vivi smirked. “I saw him at a Cassandra Reason signing.”

“Likes romance novels and working by himself. I don’t know how much of a help that is, but it’s good to know. Thanks, I’ll check him out.”

“I know I’m not a registered seer, yet, but I’d like to come to the station and dig deeper into the case. I could try and sense the witch, especially if you have something personal of hers from her parents I could use as a reference. I know I can see more.”

“I think it’s best if you stick to physical searches for now. Hexer Finn is pretty tense already. We’re under a lot of pressure right now.”

“You two are so stubborn. Neither one of you will let me in on this case.” Vivi tensed as frustration surged through her. “I get it. I’m not registered. But I’m the one who saw her. Come on,” she pleaded.

“Maybe it’s for your own good.” Lance put his hands on her arm and a cooling sensation filled her body. It felt as if his touch was extinguishing a smoldering fire inside of her. Her anger lessened.

“What was that?” she asked, sensing he was using some kind of spell on her.

“What?” He played dumb, badly.

“What you just did to me. It was magic, wasn’t it?” Vivi had the sneaking feeling there was more to Lance’s
persuasion
than he was letting on.

“Not much, just a little trick I know to create calm in people.” He shrugged.

“Nope.” Vivi shook her head. She wasn’t about to let him off the hook. “It was more. Stronger. Like a
persuasion
. What are you hiding?” She put her hand on his arm and squeezed.

“Nothing. You know I’m the sheriff. My
persuasion
is keeping people safe, investigating crime, bringing the guilty to justice.”

“You’re more than that.” Her eyes widened. “You’re a
peacemaker
. That’s it. Why didn’t you tell anyone?” She felt a pang of guilt for confronting him, but also genuine awe at the powerful
persuasion
he was hiding.

Lance pulled his arm free. The chatter in the room seemed a million miles away. A small fire crackled in the hearth. “I can’t hide anything from you.” He smiled.

Peacemaking was a genuine
persuasion
of great significance and one of the most valiant and important ones. Peacemakers were revered and honored. If it were not for some of the early peacemaking witches and wizards, Vivi didn’t know how Everland would have managed to transition from the human world to a world of its own. Witches and wizards are very opinionated. In the early days of forming the Witch Council and creating the doctrine that would rule their world, the peacemakers were vital in establishing trust and stability. Everland wouldn’t exist without them.

“Why are you still here in Willow Realm? You could move to the capital. You’d be amazing. A truly great leader.” He was an even better wizard than she realized.

“Well, for one, I happen to like it right here in Willow Realm. I’m a small-town kind of guy. I guess you could say I never wanted the attention that went with my
persuasion
.”

Vivi bubbled with warm laughter. “Now
that
I can totally relate to.” She smiled. Perhaps they had more in common than she knew.

“It’s simple. I want to help my village and the witches and wizards who live here, and I don’t want the glassy-eyed, adoring stares given to the others like me. I was born with my
persuasion
like you were born with yours. I didn’t earn it. I’m not better than anyone else.”

“Not everyone feels that way.” She raised her brow.

“That’s part of the problem we’re having right now—witches and wizards who aren’t happy with the power they were born with. They want powerful and exciting
persuasions,
no matter the cost. I’m here to tell you the grass isn’t always greener.”

“I guess we all have our secrets when it comes to magic.” Vivi felt like she was so close to figuring something out, but she couldn’t put her finger on it.

“Will I see you later at the volunteer rally?” Lance asked, standing to leave.

“Yes, I’m headed over to open my shop to get things squared away with Pepper, and then I’ll meet you there,” she said.

Vivi and Lance parted ways as they headed out of Nocturnes. Once at her shop, she entered through the back door and immediately noticed the security ward had been deactivated, so she assumed Pepper had already arrived. She walked into the back room and something crunched under her feet—bits of buttered toast and broken pottery—a ceramic mug had shattered. It looked like someone’s breakfast had fallen on the floor.

“Pepper!” she called out. “Are you here?” Her throat went dry. “Pepper!” she yelled again, worry building. The shop was eerily silent. Her senses prickled. “Pepper! Answer me!”

Her assistant was never late to work, and at a quarter to ten would have already arrived. She should be there by now, humming a tune, being her usual cheerful self in the morning. Within seconds, Vivi raced to the front of the shop. Dozens of potion bottles were upended and scattered on the counter.

Pepper was on the floor, unconscious. Vivi knelt down at her assistant’s side. She was sprawled on her back with her head facing the ceiling. Her eyes were closed, but she was breathing. Vivi gently patted her cheek. “Pepper, can you hear me?”

Vivi heard heavy footsteps across the wood floor. Her head jerked up as she realized she wasn’t alone, and she cautiously peered over the counter. A wizard wandered the front of the store, but all she could see was the back of a hooded sweatshirt he wore under a jean jacket. The hair on the back of her neck rose, and she fought the urge to run and get help from Lance. She was torn, fighting her fear, but there was no way she was leaving Pepper hurt and alone on the floor.

The intruder must have sensed her presence and thrown a spell because suddenly the shelf behind her exploded, causing shattered supplies to rain down all around her. Vivi dove to cover Pepper.

“That was a warning shot. Make any sudden moves and the next one is a direct hit,” he said. “Now get up off the floor and put your hands on the counter where I can see them.”

Vivi slowly got to her feet. He turned a corner and walked down the aisle as if he were a customer, casually browsing the merchandise and taking his pick of potions. His hand knocked over a row of potions sending them scattering like gems. His fingertips were blackened, the nails split and ragged. Their eyes locked. Vivi’s heart raced. He had always seemed so harmless. Paul masked his intentions well behind his youth and ambition, but now a slow, burning anger flashed in his eyes, and her impression of him shifted in an instant.

Vivi had not been born a master potion maker, but she had built her shop with hard work, studying late into the night, cooped up in her tiny Haven Academy room. She had given up parties and vacations with her sisters and friends to save every gold coin to make her dreams come true, and this little swine was traipsing across all she built like it was nothing. But when he had hurt Pepper, he’d crossed a line.

Vivi fingers curled into tight fists. She had had just about enough of this arrogant, self-important wizard.

“She’ll be fine in a few hours.”

Anger pricked at the back of her neck. “What did you do to her?”

He sauntered forward. A pretentious little grin played across his lips. “It was priceless. I used your own potions.” He motioned to the array of bottles scattered on the work surface. Vivi grabbed a few of the empty bottles to see what he had forced on her—a deep-sleep potion and an anxiety-soothing potion. Relief washed over her. Pepper would be okay in a few hours. She would have a killer headache, but she would survive. What a cowardly weasel. She fought the urge to rip the wizard’s head off with her bare hands.

“What do you want?”

His face was pasty and flushed. Sweat ringed his hairline. His hands trembled. Vivi noticed a silver band around Paul’s wrist. Not good. All she needed was a power-hungry wizard pumping dangerous magic through his veins, making him more unstable than he already was. She had no idea what kind of magic he was drawing from the bracelet, but if she had to guess, it was the strongest possible.

“I have a proposition for you. Think of it as a business deal.” He drummed his fingers nervously on the counter.

“I’m listening,” Vivi said, calming her voice. She instinctively knew to get him out of the shop and into the open before he did any more damage.

“You’ll come with me, and I won’t hurt your assistant or your sisters.” He tapped the silver cuff on his wrist. “I’ve recently acquired some dangerous magic, so for their sake I suggest you do what I say.”

“Let’s talk this through,” Vivi said. This was going to be difficult. She would do whatever he said if it saved her sisters and Pepper, and he knew it. Talk about having no leverage.

“Shut up! You’ll do exactly as I say or you’ll regret it.” His scowl hardened.

“I’m not going with you,” she said, but her voice trembled, giving her away.

“Potions make terrible weapons. You’ve got nothing here that can hurt me.” His voice was flat, void of emotion.

“Potions aren’t meant to hurt people.”

“No, but this is.” He held out his hand to her. Resting in his palm was a clump of brown hair. A sadistic smile crossed his face. “I made it especially for you.”

“A witch’s snare,” Vivi blurted. Once she saw the tangled knot, she knew she didn’t have a chance. Knot magic was old school, an ancient art of weaving spells with thread, yarn, or in this case, hair and fibers. Like most magic, not all knot magic was bad, but once cast, a witch’s snare was almost impossible to escape. An enchanted blade was the only thing strong enough to cut through the fiber, and they were hard to come by. If she didn’t think of something fast, she was going down.

She panicked. Her heart pounded in her chest. Paul was right. There was no potion in the shop to hurt him, but what he didn’t know was that Vivi had grown up in a house with three other women and only one bathroom. In the Mayhem household, sisterly hand-to-hand combat had been the norm when wrestling for a hot shower or a moment of privacy. It had often gotten ugly and very physical. She readied her stance.

Paul lifted his wand, but in close quarters, Vivi had the advantage when it came to a sudden attack, and without hesitation she lunged, hitting him square in the stomach with her shoulder. They both went flying to the floor with a hard thud. She scrambled, pinning him down with her knees and sat on his chest. Honora had used this tactic on her more than once growing up, and finally Vivi was putting the experience to good use.