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LIAM AND CIARA SAT in silence for over an hour, watching the house. They both had a lot to think about.
After observing it for two hours, they finally decided to head to the house. So far they had seen no movement inside.
They placed the stools back in their original spots. With a snap of Ciara’s fingers, she sent a signal to the others.
They left, keeping their eyes on the Tubbs’s house. Walking closer, Ciara kept eyeing the windows. She and Liam were out in the open. If there were witch hunters in the house, they were at risk of getting hurt. Anyone could see them.
As they neared the house, Liam grabbed Ciara by her arm. “Stay behind me, will you?”
They could already see the front porch.
Ciara frowned, glancing at Liam, before looking back at the house. “I’m—”
“I know. Just as my back-up,” Liam said, obviously lying. There was a hidden reason. One he wouldn’t tell her. But his pale face was enough for her to give in.
Ciara sighed and nodded. “Lead the way.”
They both had their wands in their hands when they approached the front door. The wood under their feet creaked, almost making them jump.
Ciara spotted blood on the front porch. It was from earlier.
Liam looked at her as if to ask about it. Without having to say anything, nodding her head, Ciara let Liam know it was nothing to worry about.
Liam nodded and turned to face the door. He reached for the doorknob, and she held her breath. He twisted it and slid the door open.
They both pointed their wands at the empty hallway. They couldn’t see anyone, but something was off.
The sun was no longer high in the sky. It was setting behind the trees, and the last of the sunlight didn’t help them see any better. To make it worse, the lights were off.
They couldn’t turn the lights on. If it was a trap, it would have alerted the witch hunters. Using spells for light wasn’t an option either because of the same issue.
The thought of a killer possibly waiting around the corner made their hands sweat.
Ciara wouldn’t have been anxious if she had been alone. But she was with Liam, and the thought of someone hurting him sickened her. She had already lost Theo. She couldn’t handle more loss.
Liam and Ciara stood in the doorway, listening. The house was silent. There wasn’t even creaking. Nothing.
They would have to go in and check the house.
Liam reached for Ciara’s hand and held onto it. “Stay close to me,” he mouthed.
The two of them peeked into the first room. There was no one in there. They stepped inside and searched behind the curtains and everything but still didn’t find anyone.
Ciara shuddered, turning to look at the dark hallway again. Liam noticed and squeezed her hand.
They left the first room, looking into the pitch-black darkness. The house was eerily silent, and the temperature had dropped. They had left the front door ajar, and the cool air got in.
Ciara had been in similar situations dozens of times, but her heart was still pounding in her chest. She was anxious.
Normally she would have been in the situation with a colleague or on her own. This time she was with Liam.
She hadn’t orientated her mind to think of Liam as a colleague who could die any day.
They tiptoed, trying to prevent the old floor from creaking. The next room’s door was slimmer than the previous one. It looked like a basement door.
Neither one of them liked the thought of a dark basement.
Liam reached for the doorknob with the hand his wand was in. He silently pushed the door open, revealing what was inside.
It wasn’t a basement.
It was a tiny storeroom. There were old books in baskets, clothes in boxes, and tools on shelves that covered the walls.
No one was in there.
They shut the door and continued on.
The next room’s door was closed, and Liam grimaced, reaching for the doorknob.
Just like last time, Liam slid the door open, trying to keep it from creaking. Seeing a man sitting on a chair startled both Liam and Ciara. They raised their wands, and Liam was about to hex him.
But they realised there was no point.
He was dead.
Liam dared to shine a little light in the room from the tip of his wand to see what had happened. Instantly he wished he hadn’t.
The dead man’s eyes had turned pure white with the pupils gone. His mouth was open, and his eyes were wide. It only made the corpse a more horrifying sight. His skin had turned a mix of blue and white. His veins had come to the surface of the skin, and they were dark grey.
Cuts covered the body along with the dried blood all over it. The room was as bloodied as the corpse. Crimson fluid had dried onto the room’s floor and the walls. Blood splatters were all over. There was even blood on the ceiling.
“Mr Tubbs,” Ciara breathed out.
He had died a horrible death.
Except for the corpse and the chair, the room was empty. But it looked as though it hadn’t always been empty. There was an outline of a sofa on a wall.
But at least there weren’t any witch hunters lurking behind any furniture.
Once Liam and Ciara recovered from their shock, they moved onto the next room, sparing dead Mr Tubbs one last glance. The sight was revolting.
They searched the entire house, one room at a time. They went through every inch of it but found nothing.
Knowing no one was there, Liam dared to let go of Ciara’s hand.
Sending a magic signal, Ciara informed the others. She and Liam walked back to the front door, but they stayed inside waiting.
Neither one of them was ready to revisit the murder scene. Neither of them wanted to talk about it either.
***
THE DOOR WAS AJAR, so Doherty and Ray walked straight in, lighting up the hallway with their wands.
“The body is in the living room.” Ciara’s voice was hoarse. “There was no one here when we came.”
Doherty nodded and headed to the living room.
“How did the missions go?” Liam asked his father.
“Two more injured, but they should recover,” Ray said, glancing at Doherty who disappeared into the darkness. “We killed four witch hunters.”
“A victory for us,” Liam said. But it didn’t feel like a victory. Not after seeing the murder scene.
“They’ll be more dangerous now. More careful, too,” Ray said.
“And we will be better-prepared,” Liam said. Somehow he could still find the optimistic side in himself.
Doherty returned to the hallway, having seen the corpse. He looked grim and, from what could be seen in the dim light, all colour had drained from his face. “Liam and Ciara, you can go now. You’ve done enough.”
“Call if you need anything,” Ciara said.
Doherty nodded. “Of course.”
“Henry is waiting for you,” Ray told Ciara. “He refuses to go home before he sees you.”
Ciara nodded.
“Iris is still there, too,” Ray said to Liam.
“Will Imogen make it?” Ciara asked.
“For now, it looks like she might,” Ray said, smiling.
Ciara smiled, too, from hearing such good news. “That’s good.”
“I’ll see you later, Dad, Doherty,” Liam said, first nodding at his father and then at Doherty.
“See you,” Ciara said.
Liam took her hand and teleported them to the Rosslers’ house. They appeared at the front door. Liam opened it and let Ciara walk in first, following right behind.
Henry rushed to hug his best friend the second he spotted her. “Thank goodness you’re okay!”
“Oh, please. It was mostly sitting and staring at a house.” Ciara chuckled, embracing her best friend. “It was the easiest task tonight, I bet.”
“There was the possibility of danger.” Henry loosened his arms around Ciara before dropping them down.
“I know.”
Henry turned to look at Liam. “Iris just left. She was exhausted after treating Mrs Tubbs.”
Liam nodded. He turned to glance at Ciara, letting his gaze linger, and then turned back to face Henry. “I suppose I should go check on her.”
Henry nodded. “Good idea.”
“Good night, Ciara,” Liam said, turning to her.
Ciara smiled at him. “Good night.”
“Bye, Henry.”
“Bye.”
Liam disappeared, using magic to go home.
Henry furrowed his eyebrows and looked at Ciara. “What did you two talk about?” He had sensed the weird atmosphere around the two. Something had happened on their mission.
Ciara sighed. “Nothing.”
Henry let it slide for the time being. He saw how exhausted Ciara was, and not just physically. He didn’t want to add onto that.
Despite how exhausted Ciara and Henry were, they stayed for tea.
***
THE COMPANY OF HENRY’S younger siblings had cheered Ciara up, but she was still tired. The exhaustion hit her when they made it back to Henry’s flat.
Still, she wasn’t sure if she could sleep. Her mind kept drifting back to her conversation with Liam. She tried not to think about it, but so far it wasn’t working.
The murder scene also bothered her. It had reminded her of Theo’s death. It had brought back terrible, gruesome memories.
She wished she had got a chance to fight the witch hunters, but the house had been empty. Those bastards deserved to die for what they had done.
Henry stayed silent when he hung his coat onto the coatrack near the door. But after that, he said, “Something’s bothering you.”
Ciara was just hanging her coat, too. “I can’t talk about it right now,” she said, shaking her head. “Please.”
“Can’t or won’t?”
“Can you let it be for now?” Ciara pleaded.
Henry nodded, seeing how distressed his best friend was. “Of course.”
“Can you give me a hug?”
Henry had never heard Ciara say that. Those words were enough to tell how serious it was. She wasn’t okay.
He wrapped his arms around his best friend and hugged her. Ciara wrapped her arms around Henry, clinging on to him. She had never needed a hug so desperately.