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CIARA HAD A GOOD MEMORY thanks to having trained it a lot for work. She had read the papers Josh had given her twice to make sure she remembered each name and address.
She wasn’t exactly running errands. She was on a mission, looking into the murders Josh had discovered. Her plan was to figure out if they had been committed by the witch hunters.
She found an eyewitness of the first murder on the list. She went to her house to ask her about what she had seen.
“You said you saw two figures leave the house. Correct?”
The elderly woman nodded.
“What did they look like?”
“They wore long coats. W-well, not exactly coats.” The old woman hummed, thinking. The frown on her face made her appear much older, deepening her wrinkles. “Like cloaks, I think. I couldn’t see their faces because of the hoods.”
“Can you remember anything else? Even something that might seem like a minor detail?” Ciara asked, writing down everything the woman said. She had a notebook that she was pretending to write in, but in reality she was using an enchanted pen that did the work for her. One she had enchanted just before the interview. Obviously the pen was out of the woman’s view, behind the notebook.
“I thought I saw a flash in the living room,” the old woman explained. “But I’m not sure. W-who would take a picture in the middle of a murder?”
Ciara furrowed her eyebrows. She had read the police reports that Josh had included with the list. She couldn’t remember anything about a flash. “Did you mention this to the police when they asked you about what you saw?”
The old woman shook her head. “No. I-I think I just made it up in my head. M-maybe someone turned on the lights and then turned them off again. They didn’t take any pictures, did they?”
Ciara smiled politely. “We have no evidence of any pictures. No camera, nothing. It was probably just the lights.”
The old woman nodded, reassured. “That’s what I thought.”
But that wasn’t what Ciara thought. If there had been a flash, it had likely been magic.
The second murder didn’t have any eyewitnesses, but the third one did: a young girl. The girl’s parents hesitated to let Ciara ask questions, but eventually they gave in. Ciara made sure to only ask bare necessities if even that, even though the girl hadn’t been told that she had witnessed a murder. The girl thought the body had been a passed-out person.
Ciara asked the girl about a flash, and she could confirm that there had been one. Even if the witch hunters weren’t behind the murders, the murders had to be connected.
Ciara interrogated six more eyewitnesses. There were even more murders, but some of them didn’t have any witnesses.
They all had different stories, but everyone mentioned seeing a flash. Even if the murderers weren’t the witch hunters, they had to be people with magic—witches or wizards.
***
CIARA WALKED OUT OF a block of flats, going through her notes.
“Excellent work.”
She spun around to see a man leaning against the wall. She looked him over—a habit that came with the job.
He was a Caucasian man in his thirties. Dark brown hair and stubble. His eyes were an odd shade of blue. Based on his muscles, he was athletic. He was also tall—probably close to six and half feet.
Ciara didn’t know him. For all she knew, he could have been a witch hunter. “Excuse me?” she said, reaching her hand into her wand pocket. Not that she needed the wand. But if the situation escalated into a fight, the wand could be useful.
“I’ve been following you.”
She curled her fingers around the wand.
“Just today, so don’t worry.” He walked closer to Ciara, hands in his pockets. He didn’t appear threatening. In fact, his posture was oddly relaxed.
“So you’re stalking me?” Ciara asked, tilting her head to the side. “Aren’t you supposed to keep that a secret if you wish to continue?”
The man smiled so wide his teeth showed. Ciara didn’t miss the fact his teeth were so white they had to be bleached. She also spotted an expensive watch on his wrist, noting he had to be rich.
“Doherty always said good things about you. I can see why.”
She released her grip on her wand when she heard her old mentor’s name. “Doherty?” Her voice came out as a gasp.
Did he know Doherty or is he playing with me?
The man nodded.
“So, you’ve been following me all day. Now you choose to approach me. Can you get to the point?” Ciara asked impatiently.
“The head of the department, Gordon Frazier, was fired on Friday,” the man said.
“I haven’t been informed.”
“I know. That’s what I’m here for.” The man stepped closer, so he was only an arm’s length away from Ciara. “I’m Kellan Wolff.” He reached his hand out.
Ciara eyed his hand but refused to shake it. She didn’t trust the man. “I’ve never heard of you.”
“I got Doherty’s place after he died,” Kellan said, pulling his hand back to his side. “I would have been your colleague if you hadn’t been suspended when you were transferred.”
Ciara nodded. “I’m not allowed back until next year.”
Kellan smiled. “Yes, that’s partially what I’m here for. But first things first...you want proof of Frazier’s firing, I bet.” He pulled a paper out of his pocket and unfolded it. It wasn’t a non-magic, mundane paper but an enchanted one, so it was still creaseless.
Kellan handed the paper to Ciara. She took it and read it through. She made sure the magical seal was attached, and the signatures were correct. It was an official paper. At the bottom of the paper was the name of the next head of the department. Kellan Wolff.
“You’re the new head of the department?” Ciara asked and handed the paper back to the man.
“I can give you more proof if you’d like,” Kellan offered, folding the paper.
“That paper had the seal on it. All that’s written on it is true. I believe you.”
Kellan smiled and nodded. Then he shoved the folded paper back in his pocket. “I’m here to accept you to work early and to give you a promotion.”
Ciara looked at the man as if he had gone mad. “Excuse me?”
“You heard right.”
“A promotion? Based on what? I’m too young to be promoted.”
“Your birthday is in two days.”
Ciara shook her head. “Twenty-two is too young for promotion.”
“Perhaps in America, and perhaps when Frazier was the head of the department,” Kellan admitted. “But I make the new rules. I knew Doherty, and I knew about the secret group you had. I know enough to promote you.”
“You want to promote me?”
“Yes.”
“And would that mean I would be someone’s boss?” She had never been the one to give out orders.
“Well, yes,” Kellan said. “The current situation is a bit complicated. I am the actual head of the department, but Frazier remains as the head in the public image.”
“To protect you?”
“Yes, and to keep him quiet.”
Ciara nodded. “And I’d be someone’s boss?”
“Your position is right below mine. You’ll have your own team of well-trained hit wizards and witches, like Doherty had. But I will do most of your work as their boss at first, so you won’t have to worry about any of that,” Kellan told.
“What am I supposed to do then?”
“What you’ve been doing all day,” Kellan said, gesturing to the notebook in Ciara’s hands. “When you need help, you’ll get it from your team.”
“And when should I start?”
“Tomorrow, but I’ll give you an extra payment for today and Friday, too,” Kellan said. “Does that sound reasonable?”
Ciara nodded. “Yes.”
“I’d like to meet you in my office tomorrow at nine.”
“I assume it’s Frazier’s old office?”
“It is.”
“Am I supposed to call you sir?”
Kellan chuckled and shook his head. “Please, don’t. Kellan is just fine.”
“Alright.”
“Tomorrow at nine?”
“Tomorrow at nine.”
“See you then.”
“Wait. How did I not notice you?” Ciara asked before Kellan could leave, giving him a look of suspicion.
Kellan grinned. “A hiding spell.” Then he vanished.
Ciara was done for the day.
And she would finally get to work again. The thought excited her, because staying at home didn’t suit her. She missed the action. She also wanted to fight the witch hunters, and at work she could do it legally.
Even though she had only just met Kellan, she already had a feeling he took the matter more seriously than Frazier had. Kellan had also known Doherty, so Ciara could trust him.
Finally, things were working out.