On Monday night, Bran dragged me out for dinner. I got to pick, so we hit a hole-in-the-wall Chinese place with huge portions, good food, and we could sit and talk all night if we wanted to.
“These egg rolls are great. Huge but great,” he said.
“Good doesn’t have to mean fancy. Your aunt would hate it here,” I said.
He shrugged. “She’s less judgmental than you think. She likes you. That’s why she invited you to the brunch. To pump up your confidence and give you permission to use your powers on a fuller scale.”
“I don’t need permission,” I said.
He sighed. “Your mom died. Your aunt has minor healing if that. Your uncle has nothing.”
“So?” I asked.
“So... Did you know when you eat meat, there’s a sparkle in your eye that isn’t there when you’re eating salad or vegetarian dishes?” he asked.
I grinned. “My aunt’s a vegetarian. I lived with that. I could go out with friends to eat a burger without judgement. I understand she has her values, but animals eat other animals. It’s nature,” I said.
He smiled. “I’ll take you for all the steak and lobster you want. But you still feel this little rebellion when you do it, like you’re doing something wrong. You didn’t flash around your powers growing up either. Probably for the same reason. But, also, there’s no one to tell you it’s okay to use them. That it’s safe or right.”
I shook my head. “Esme taught me. I’m not ignorant.”
“No, you’re not. You’re impressive, but you had to go to a public school and live with your family. You couldn’t freely use your powers growing up, like I could. Now, there is nothing stopping you. You use your powers in a minor way. Keeping your customers from remembering or retaining any magic talk. But you could put half the woman at that brunch in their place.
“No.” I sat back.
“Yes. You don’t let it out. You have to believe in yourself. Trust yourself.”
I nodded. “The secret undermines my confidence. Like I’m missing a piece. Or I’ll find out I’m evil or something.”
“You couldn’t be evil if you tried,” he said.
“I could be to Brenda,” I retorted.
“She deserves it. You don’t need to be nice to everyone. Hippie aunt aside, when people show you they’re rude or mean, you don’t need them in your life.” Bran sipped his tea.
Our cookies arrived, along with the bill.
I opened a fortune cookie. “Your powers will take you to new heights.” I glared at him.
“Sounds right.”
I stared.
“What?” he asked.
“You changed my fortune,” I said.
“Hardly.” He opened his own. “Romance and happiness are the same.”
“That is a normal fortune. What’s mine?” I asked.
He smiled. “I didn’t change yours.”
“Liar.” I popped a piece of the cookie in my mouth.
“Anything else interesting from the brunch?” he asked.
I nodded. “They know who stole my spells. They wouldn’t tell me. I asked repeatedly, but they dodged. They’re icing out Brenda for me. I didn’t ask them to. I don’t understand them.”
“They’re afraid you’ll tell the police. That’s not how we handle things,” he said.
“I know. I just want to know who betrayed me. It sounds like that person killed Trela, unless they were lying,” I said.
“No. They wouldn’t do that. Humans won’t solve this. Witches will,” he said.
“So, why tease me?” I asked.
“They wanted to see if you knew who it was. I told her at dinner last night that you’d been staying out of it and letting the police do their thing. It’s not your business,” he replied.
“What did she say?” I asked.
“They expect you’ll try to solve it yourself. They want to see if you can and who you go to,” he said.
“I let the magical world punish Ryan and Serena.” I poured more tea.
“Because I suggested and introduced you to that option. And it was a spell mistake. The intent wasn’t murder. This is different. A spell was used, but it was set to look like a suicide. The humans might let them off for reasonable doubt. Can you prove it was staged?”
“I don’t know what the police have. This detective is more interested in Derrick than talking to me.” I smiled over at the opposite side of the restaurant.
Bran craned his neck. “Derrick and the detective, I presume.”
“Yep. Pretend we don’t see them, unless they see us and acknowledge us.”
“Why?” he asked.
“Derrick did Trela’s hair once. Detective Grant found him to interview him, but they sparked. Maybe they should wait until the case is closed, but we’ll see.” I sipped my tea. “The witches want me to solve the case?”
“And go for magical justice.” Bran nodded.
“They know who did it. This is cruel and a waste of time,” I said.
“What if they’re wrong?” he asked.
“If they traced my spell use on Trela, they won’t be wrong,” I said.
“If they traced it, so can you,” he pointed out as I put cash down on the bill.
“What about my secret? Are they keeping that?” I asked.
He shook his head. “That is well-buried. They want confirmation. One rumor isn’t enough. They are thorough, like you.”
“I want the rumor,” I said.
He took my hand. “You want the truth. I like that about you. You also want to help people. Help Trela and get your mind off of your stuff.”
“I know. But it’s not that my dad was a gypsy, right? That rumor was put to rest by the gypsies for me. I know how your family is.” I frowned.
“It’s an attachment that can bring problems. But, no, that’s not the rumor. Whatever it is, we’ll sort through it. I’m not giving you up.” He exited the booth. “Dessert?”
“We had cookies,” I said.
“Okay. There is a frozen yogurt place on the way back to the car.” He held out his hand.
“You’ve tempted me.” I slid from the booth and took his hand.
I had a mystery to solve and some magical justice to dole out. “If we find out the secret is I was wronged, somehow, the witches’ council will punish them, too, right?” I asked.
“I’ll personally administer a torturous confession and punish them severely,” he said.
“Proper channels for justice,” I said.
“Strawberry or chocolate?” he asked.
“Promise me!”
“Strawberry and chocolate swirl it is.” He grinned.
“Men,” I sighed.
Liz had called and made lunch plans with me over a week ago, and luckily, I’d put the commitment in my phone. The alert gave me enough time to change from my café T-shirt and put on a little makeup. I arrived at the diner just in time.
She already had a booth. Liz always looked serene and calm. It wasn’t just at the ball.
“Hi, sorry. Life has been crazy,” I said.
“Sorry for what?” she asked.
“Just I was almost late. Too much going on.” I slid in the booth and picked up the menu.
“If you need to reschedule, we can,” she said.
“No, no way. I need a break. After my spell books were stolen, one of the new witches was killed. It’s just awful, and I’m trying sort things out,” I said.
“I heard you solved the death of a customer. Magical mysteries are hard for the human police. You think it wasn’t a suicide? I heard it was pretty straightforward,” Liz said.
The waitress showed up, and we paused to order then went back to chatting.
“Why would you go through the trouble of moving if you’re going to kill yourself? It makes no sense. It wasn’t like she had family around her in Salem. There was no one to protect. No reason to move. All that work and money for that end? I don’t buy it,” I said.
“I never thought about it like that.” Liz sat back.
“Plus, she had boxes of inventory in her kitchen when Esme and I visited her. If she were planning to move where no one knew her, for whatever reason, why bring inventory? Sell it off or leave it,” she said.
“Right. Have the police talked to you?” she asked.
“They have. I don’t know anything more, but I think I may have to check out her ex-boyfriend,” I said.
“Isn’t that what the police are for?” she asked.
I nodded. “But, if it’s a magical connection or cover-up, they won’t be of any use.”
“True,” she said.
“Don’t the witches’ council have investigators? A police force?” I asked.
“Some, but they spend their time going after the truly evil. There are some very bad witches and wizards out there who do unspeakable things. You won’t hear of them because you’re properly protected and connected. Too close to the humans. It’d be dangerous for any of them to approach you or attack you.” Liz sipped her iced tea.
I played with the straw in my ice water with lemon. “What? I’ve never heard of any of this.”
“I know. My mother said it’s awful how limited your magical education is. You’re powerful, and Esme taught you how to use that. However, your understanding of the magical community and its depth is lacking. You should’ve been attending the ball since you were sixteen. We should’ve been friends all our lives.” Liz frowned.
I nodded. “I agree, but my aunt wasn’t comfortable in those circles. And this family secret. She probably was afraid I’d find out, somehow. I wish Esme had pushed harder to get me into the magical world. Then again, I had a human-ish childhood. My cousins had no powers, so I didn’t flaunt mine.”
“You were being kind. They raised you. That’s not nothing. The cost and care. You didn’t want to be trouble,” she said.
“I was a bit as a teenager,” I admitted.
Liz laughed. “I could’ve used that. Both of my parents were very magical, so if I did anything wrong, I got caught. You had to be really fast and smart to outsmart the parental magical constraints. They let me have some fun, but it was always secure fun because someone was watching.”
“Creepy,” I said.
“Very. But a lot of small communities are like that. They have their rules and standards. Modern day humans in America are afraid of their kids and let them run wild while trying to overprotect them. Magical families might be picking up those bad habits,” Liz said.
“Killean has one of those cousins,” I said.
“So, I’m against the discipline, but you probably had more of a human-witch hybrid childhood. More fun.”
I nodded. “Well, my uncle is a gypsy. They have a lot of crazy rules. I’m glad I didn’t have to follow them, but it did make me think.”
“About what?” she asked.
I smiled at the waitress who brought our food.
“About some of the contradictions. Girls dress to show off, and it’s rather suggestive. But they are always chaperoned. Young marriage is normal, but the guy is young, too. A lot of them left school before high school. My aunt hated that. She pushed education. I’m glad of that, because those girls became maids. Cooking, cleaning and caring for your younger siblings until they got married.” I never thought of the magical community as so controlling, but with such dark evil out there—I understood why.
“That’s very weird, to me, anyway. You really have a toe in a lot of different worlds,” she said.
“True. Can I ask about Bran? Honestly, what do you really think about him and his family?” I asked.
We began to eat, and Liz nodded but waved her hand.
“The family is powerful, so we need a privacy spell. I like Bran and his brother. Some of their family members are eccentric, to say the least. Highly magical family, all of them. They are leaders in the city for the magical community. They have money and power. They don’t mix with humans as much as you do or even I do,” Liz explained.
“Makes more sense why Esme kept me away,” I replied.
“True. You’d have been picked on by other kids with more magical lives. Bran is being a big of a rebel to date you. As magical as you are, you have a lot of human baggage. And your parents’ death. Why wouldn’t your mother use her magic?”
“Any ideas?” I asked.
“She did sympathize with the weres and vamps. It happens. The Killeans have a few wizards who’ve been turned. They were the wild ones.” She smiled.
“Vern was wild?” I asked.
“He romanced a vampire and let his guard down. Love makes people do dumb things. Your parents helping vamps and weres is fine, but I doubt your mother was having an affair with one. Mom said your parents were one of those always lovey-dovey couples.” She rolled her eyes.
“Thanks for trying. I’m still missing a piece of the puzzle. So, there aren’t humans in the Killean family? None?” I asked.
“Not that I know of. They are very international. Lots of European relatives. Lots of travel. I know your family is close. Theirs is a different sort of close,” she said.
“Weird. Sorry, your family might be like theirs.” I shrugged.
“No, mine is dull. Magic makes life a little easier, but life is life,” she said.
“Very true. Sorry I bugged you about Bran,” I said.
“No, please. I’ve known him longer. With his family, I’d be shocked if you didn’t have some reservations. They’re all in each other’s business. But I’m sure you could get him to yourself. He’s crazy about you,” she said.
I rolled my eyes. “I’m not sure. I feel like I know him, sometimes, and then, there are times when we seem so different. I don’t know if it’ll work. I’m not sure why he’s interested in me.”
“You’re powerful. You’re attractive. Your families aren’t already connected,” Liz said.
“Seriously, that matters?” I asked.
“Some magical families intermarry a lot. It gets messed up when you’re limited. My family has a lot of humans. Not a good candidate for a Killean,” she said.
“That’s dumb. You can be powerful, even if your family is part human. My dad was just a human,” I said.
“That’s why Bran is a rebel. But you also don’t have a lot of family to be different. No siblings to marry humans. You can be absorbed into the family,” she said.
I didn’t like that. “It does feel like stepping into another world. A nice rich one but...”
“Just be careful. Don’t rush into anything. Don’t be bullied. Too many red flags, and I’d walk. That’s just me. Bran isn’t really known for being a rebel. He’s the solid older son. If it was the younger brother, I’d say you could drag him away and turn him into a gypsy-loving hippie like your aunt.” She signaled the waitress for more iced tea.
“Thanks. I needed that,” I said.
“Esme is with Vern. They’re off again and on again because she won’t settle down or commit. She won’t let them have any power over her,” she said.
“Why is she letting me get so deep in it?” I asked.
“You needed the magical exposure. Your family can’t keep you isolated forever. And Esme is around the Killeans, so she can keep an eye on you. She should’ve done this when you were a teenager, but I’m sure your aunt wouldn’t have like it,” Liz said.
“Probably not. I like Bran a lot, but I need to be careful,” I said.
“Agreed. But you’re busy with your humans, weres, and vamps. Plus gypsies. Don’t let him drag you away from them,” she said.
We finished lunch talking about more normal things, but I was definitely going to be paying closer attention to the Killeans. But, first, I had to find out more about Trela’s death.