"And why is this your business?"
"Because I'm a Seeker," Hunter said. "It's my job to investigate misuses of magick."
"This doesn't have anything to do with magick," I said, standing up. "Maybe there was a stock split and Alton's secretary was at lunch when the call came in. Maybe he got the news by e-mail. Maybe there was no stock split but Afton forgave the debt anyway, out of the simple goodness of his heart. This isn't council business, Hunter."
"Open your eyes," Hunter said flatly. "There's magick involved here. Dark magick. We both know that."
I realized I had no choice. I had to tell him about seeing Cal.
I took a deep breath. "There's something I have to tell you."
I explained how I'd scryed for the truth two nights ago and how instead of seeing David, Cal had appeared. I didn't speak about the feelings seeing Cal's face had induced, nor did Hunter ask. But two white creases appeared on the out-sides of his nostrils.
"The way I see it, this is the strongest proof we've had yet that Cal is behind the dark magick we've detected," I said. "It isn't David at all."
I could see Hunter weighing this new information. "You say you asked to see the truth?" he asked after a moment "Were those the words you used? Did you mention David's name?"
"No," I answered, puzzled. "Why?"
"You weren't very specific. And fire can be a capricious scrying tool," Hunter replied.
"Are you trying to tell me the fire lied to me?" I asked. I was starting to get angry again.
"No," Hunter said. "Fire doesn't lie. But it reveals the truths it wants to reveal, especially if you're not specific with your questions."
I put my head in my hands, feeling suddenly weary. "I don't get it, Hunter," I said. "I keep giving you clues that point clearly to Cal and Selene, the witches you came here to investigate—the witches you're still trying to track down. I don't want it to be them—I don't want to even think about them. But it makes total sense that they're the ones whose presence I felt. Why do you keep trying to make this about David and Practical Magick?"
Hunter was silent for a moment. At last he said, "It's a feeling I have. I've got an instinct for darkness. It's what makes me so good at my job." The words weren't a boast. His voice was quiet. For the first time I began to really wonder. Was it possible that he was right?
"Enough of this," he said with a sigh. "We're not getting anywhere, and it's nearly six. I'd better run you home."
We walked out to his car without talking. I noticed with a shock that it was the same gray rental sedan he'd had the week before. Selene had hidden it in an abandoned barn when she thought Cal and I had killed Hunter.
"I tracked it down," Hunter remarked, eerily echoing what was on my mind. We climbed into the car, and he drove me home in silence, each lost in our own thoughts. He pulled into my driveway. Then, as I reached for the door handle, he put his hand on mine. "Morgan."
A jolt of sensation ran up my arm, and I turned to face him.
"Please think about what we discussed, about David. I'm almost certain Stuart Afton didn't forgive that debt out of kindness."
"I just don't believe David would mess with dark magick," I said. As he began to reply, I cut him off. "I know, I know, you have a special sense for evil. But you're wrong this time. You have to be."
I climbed out and hurried up the walk to my house, hoping I was right.
14. Old Wounds
Beltane, 1996
We are in Vienna, where I have found work tutoring college students in English. Evenings, Fiona and I walk along the Danude or in the Stefansplatz. She had gained some much needed weight and is looking better. The other night we even went on the Ferris wheel in the Volksprater. But the amusement park made us think of the children. Have Beck and Shelagh ever taken them to such a place?
Giomanach is now thirteen. Linden almost twelve, and Alwyn, nine. I wonder when they look like.
— Maghach
At dinner Mom reported that so far there had been no new incidents at Aunt Eileen and Paula's house. "They're hoping that those creeps saw the police show up at the house and have backed off."
"I hope so," I said. I reminded myself to get to Practical Magick for those ingredients soon.
Mom dished out some goulash and handed me the plate. "Will you be able to finish inputting our real estate listings this week?" she asked.
"I'm getting Das Boot back tomorrow afternoon," I said. "So I can stop by your office around three-thirty, after I drop Mary K. at home."
"I forgot to tell you. I'm not coming straight home tomorrow after school," said Mary K. "I'm going shopping with Olivia and Darcy."
Shopping. I wasn't ordinarily a big fan of shopping, but suddenly I felt a sharp pang of envy. How long had it been since I'd gone shopping with my friends or just hung out after school, doing nothing in particular?
Since you and Bree stopped being friends, I answered myself.
After dinner I went upstairs and tried to do my math homework, but my brain was too overloaded with thoughts of Hunter, Cal, David. I sighed. With its connection to the harmony of nature, Wicca was about balance, something I sorely needed. I had to bring balance back into my life, and the only way I could think of doing that was with a healthy dose of non-Wicca normalcy.
Surprising myself, I opened my door and padded out into the hall, where I picked up the phone. I took it back into my room and perched cross-legged on my bed.
My heart pounded as I dialed Bree's number. It had been so long since I'd done this. Would she want to talk to me?
Bree picked up on the third ring. "Hi, it's Morgan," I said quickly, before my nerve failed me.
"Hi." She sounded uneasy. "What's up?"
"Um—" I hadn't thought this through. "Not a whole lot. I just. . you know, wanted to say hi. Catch up."
"Oh. Well, hi," she said.
Then we had one of those long, awkward silences, and I wondered if maybe it was crazy of me to have called her. Maybe she didn't want to be friends with me anymore. Maybe there was just too much water under the bridge.
I was about to mumble that I had to go when she spoke. "Morgan." She hesitated. "Some of things I did to you—I know they really hurt. I can't undo them. But I'm really sorry. I was a complete bitch."
"I–I was, too," I admitted.
Another silence. Clearly neither one of us wanted to go into the details. It was still too raw to bring all that up again.
"So," she said, "what's been happening in your life? Robbie told me—well, he told me about your being adopted. About being a blood witch."
"He did?" I tried to decide how I felt about Bree and Robbie discussing my personal life.
"Yeah. I've been wanting to talk to you about it. If you want to," she said.
"I've been wanting to talk to you about it, too," I confessed. "But when we're face-to-face. Not on the phone."
"Okay," she said. "I'd like that."
"Meanwhile Hunter's got me in a Wicca study intensive," I told her. "You know, he's taken over the leadership of Cirrus now that. ." I trailed off. Now that Cal's gone, I thought. Quickly changing the subject, I asked, "How's Kithic? How is it having Sky lead a coven?"
"Challenging," Bree said in a thoughtful tone. "We've been doing visualization exercises. At our last circle we were outside under the moon, and Sky told us to visualize a pentagram. At first everyone was distracted by the cold and the noise of cars going by. Finally, though, we got it together. We all closed our eyes, visualizing away, and there was this moment of absolute silence, then Sky told us to open our eyes, and there was this perfect pentagram, etched in the snow. It was amazing."