been so engrossed in the witch hunter story.
Glancing to the table, I noticed all the food. Then my stomach rumbled to life. “Oh, let’s go eat.”
As we walked through the living room, my doorbell rang. “You all go ahead, I’ll get it.”
I opened the door after making sure Alfred was out of sight, and Sam walked in without waiting for an invitation. Then again, he was my BFF and this house had always been a second home for him. When I was about to close the door, Drew slipped inside. I frowned at him but said nothing. Sam didn’t yet know about Drew and what we’d learned. We hadn’t called him to fill him in yet.
“Um, hello,” I said as Drew barged in. “Please, do come in.”
“Thanks. Is that burgers I smell?” Sam grinned. Drew nodded politely to me and followed Sam.
I snorted. “Yes, but I don't know if it’s a good idea for you to…” My voice trailed off as he walked down the hall, ignoring me.
Drew followed, but stopped at the door to the kitchen and turned around, as if just registering my words. “Wait, you didn’t want me here?”
I gaped at him. “Well, it’s not that I don’t, but I think you’ve got some explaining to do.”
He looked toward the people in the living room and then back at me. “What do you mean? We came here to tell you about Carmen. That’s why we’re here.”
“We know you’re a hunter,” Olivia said from the kitchen.
Drew’s facial features didn’t change, and I wonder if he even heard what Olivia said. Something was off with those two.
I cut through the living room into the kitchen before them. “Everyone sit.”
My table, though large, was suddenly very full. Drew and Sam sat, and Sam looked at us all with wide eyes. “What’s up?”
“My son, Wallie.” I pointed at Wal for Drew’s benefit. “Found out about the hunters. And that Drew is descended from a long line of hunters that also includes Carmen.”
Sam frowned at the sheriff while Drew shook his head, his forehead creasing. “I’m not, and I don’t know Carmen. I hadn’t met her before tonight. And her explanation was perfectly reasonable.”
“Yes,” Sam said. “Perfectly reasonable.”
See? Weird. We had a witness and documented proof that Carmen is a witch hunter and had motive to kill William and Betty. Sam and Drew just sat there, like we were all wrong.
I thought not.
Olivia and I exchanged a glance. “What did she say?”
Drew didn’t blink as Alfred handed him a plate with a burger and bun. He just started piling on condiments. “She is her step-daughter.”
“Did you confirm this with Connor?” I asked
Olivia was looking at Sam. “Sam?”
They both shook their heads as Alfred handed Sam a plate and he started fixing it.
“No,” Drew said. “It was perfectly reasonable.”
“Yes, perfectly reasonable,” Sam echoed.
Olivia looked at me with her eyebrows raised.
Owen stood. “Sam, may I look at your eyes?” he asked
“Sure,” Sam said jovially.
Owen peered close at Sam. “They’ve been spelled. Should be easy enough to break.”
“How?” I asked.
He grinned. “This is really fun. You’ve never broken a glamour?”
Drew and Sam kept eating, obliviously happy as I snorted. “I didn’t even know this was a glamour. I thought glamours were for changing the appearance of things.”
“It can change the appearance of someone’s mind, too, so to speak,” he said. “So, anyway, let some magic pool in your hands.” He nodded at Wallie. “Want to try?”
Wallie grinned big and nodded. “Hell, yeah.”
“Okay, Wallie you stand beside Sam, and Ava beside Drew.” We moved around the table and positioned ourselves. I let my magic pool in my hand. My hands glowed as magic arched between my fingers.
Olivia gasped. “It’s so pretty.”
“Magic, when visible, tends to come out the witch’s favorite color. Mine is bright, hot pink.”
Wallie grinned. “Mine’s green.” The magic pooling in his hands was forest green.
I smiled at a memory of my mother. “So was your grandmother’s.”
“Okay, let the magic really build up in your hand. Not really an energy ball. More like an energy pancake. Swirl it around.” Owen demonstrated, and shocker, his magic was dark gray. The guy was so weird.
“When you’ve got as much as you can hold without it spilling over, ask them to look at you, then slap their face as hard as you can.”
Olivia gasped and Wallie grinned. I stopped short. “Wait,” I yelled. “Just wait.”
Owen and Wallie looked at me, disappointed. “What?” Wallie asked.
“Sam has been my best friend all my life,” I said. “You’re not slapping him like that.”
Owen’s chair scraped