Little Red (Twisted Dark, #4)

Chapter Three: Mama Sorceress: Part Three

I stared at my mother before giving a short nod. If there was anything us Lenkirions were good for, it was protecting our blood when our blood needed protecting. I could understand why she had come to me as well. Several of my siblings were too young, BamBam had a baby to take care of, Lacey was on a honeymoon with her High King of High I Don't Care, Tia was self-explanatory, and Fayette was definitely out of the picture with her Oracle powers manifesting.

That did leave the triplets Delilah, Maritza, and Rosaline but they were only twenty-one and far from being even slightly responsible enough to track someone down without causing enormous amounts of trouble, there was a reason they were staying with Aunt Hestia for a bit. Bam and I were chaotic but those three caused plain old trouble. They had exposed nearly seven harems, had a collective eighteen affairs with Fae Delegates that nearly cased an interspecies incident once their wives found out, and had broke into no less than three Coven treasuries. Not to steal anything, just to prove they could.

I applauded them for their want to cause trouble but even I drew the line at causing interspecies issues and deliberately fucking up social situations and standings just for fun. I preferred the more violent, I will commit arson type of chaos, or, get so drunk I blackout and cause bar fights for fun, type of chaos. Bam had always been a more, I do what I want type and I will explode you and everything you love if you cross me, type for chaos. So there was a distinct difference. I wanted chaos around me, Bam caused chaos only if people fucked with her, those three caused trouble simply to make it everyone else's problem.

After them there was also Bowie and Callipsi but they were both in schooling still. So that left me to do it. I understood it. I would get it done, no matter what happened and everyone else was busy but at the same time it grated on me that I was essentially labeled the responsible one for this situation.

"Thank you, Red. I really do appreciate you." She reached out and stroked my cheek with a loving smile and I huffed, feeling my cheek pinken slightly at the praise.

"I'm only doing this because you asked and because fuck your cousin Mary for doing that." I still wanted to eviscerate the witch for handing an infant over to that sadistic bitch. I couldn't understand how aunt Hestia could have given birth to that, she was a quiet and unassuming woman. Must have been from her ex-husband's side of the family, it had to be.

"I understand, our blood is blood and we defend it but still. I really appreciate you for even thinking about doing it. I'm just far too busy dealing with finishing up the recovery of Coven Thirteen and standing in for Lacey as Queen of the Covens." She waved her hand slightly in the air and I crossed my arms over my chest. I could understand that. Busy was busy and I could at least delegate the bar to Eve and Raph for a few nights. I could trust them to run it just fine without me.

"When does she get back?" Lacey had fucked off with her new husband like a month ago and I only knew that because of the gossiping witches who usually came in to see me. Well stare at me and whisper to themselves about how I was now royal blooded because that didn't get annoying in the least.

"I expect her in another week or so." She gave a short nod with the words before giving me a concerned look. "I just want Violet located sooner rather than later. From what I learned, she has never been taught how to use her magick, so she is fairly defenceless. As well as from Irma's journals, she has never been allowed outside of the Coven or from the Broken Crow shop on the Emporium. She is easy... well you know." I grimaced at that. Easy fucking prey. She didn't know how to use her magick and didn't have a basic understanding of how the world worked. Great.

"I'll find her." I would curse the entire time because I was being forced into being responsible but I would do it. "Do you want me to drag her to your place when I do?" Seemed fitting to drop her off with my mother so she could at least get some proper care.

"If she is in a bad situation, then by all means let her know to come to me, but if she is okay and is secure where she is, just let her know to give her aunty Cate a call so I can keep in contact to make sure she is okay and settling in." My mother reached over and smoothed a hand down my arm, the touch rather comforting. I nodded at her. I could do that. That was better than dragging a more than likely confused and traumatized witch back to my bar or around the Territories or Covens.

"I have it sitting right and I tapped it a little to hold it." At Tia's words I looked at her. She got up from the floor, wiping at her pants, the stool siting there with four straight legs aimed into the air. You can...fix it." She seemed to struggle with the word and I nodded as I got up. I hated that warlock with my everything. Tia had been a bit quirky before he got a hold of her but still able to use her magick but after that she had refused to touch any form of magick she couldn't use a specific tool for. He had her for a single night and he had scarred her for the rest of her life. Then our father had only made the damage that much worse with his stupid fucking antics.

"That's good, Tiannia. I should really get you home." Our mother gracefully got off the stool and held out her hand for Tia and my twin nodded, tucking some of her flyaway curls behind her ears before she walked straight for me.

"Come here." I grinned at her, unable to help myself as I opened my arms for her. "Huggy hugs." At the words we both wiggled our bodies as we moved closer and then hugged tightly. I pressed my face into her shoulder and I knew she was doing the same to me. She gave me two precise squeezes and I gave her two in return before smiling and giving her one more.

"Lilli!" She sounded agitated and I gave her another one before she gave me two more squeezes. "Now we are even." She pulled back and reached up, tapping me once underneath each eye. "One two."

I lifted my own hand and repeated the gesture, tapping her once underneath each eye. "Three four." I pressed our foreheads together as I made eye contact with her, letting her see just how much I loved her. "We will love each other."

"Forever and more." She finished before kissing my right cheek and then my left cheek. "You owe me two." She smiled up at me, her eyes crinkling in the corners and for a brief moment she looked so utterly relaxed and happy that it made my chest hurt to see. She should have been like that the entire time, instead father and that warlock had destroyed it.

"You know it." I scrunched up my nose at her before we stepped back, letting our arms drop. I turned to mother and silently held my arms out.

She smiled at me, "I love you, my girl." She gave me a tight squeeze that I returned. She pulled back before tapping me on the nose. "Visit more often." She gave me a look before she let me go and reached for Tia, who took her hand quickly. "Violet was last seen in the Broken Crow. A werewolf apparently broke in and then took her out. She hasn't been seen since." My mother said it low and I shrugged but nodded.

"I can work with that." I could interview some regulars in the Emporium for if they had seen anything and what the werewolf looked like or where he seemed to be headed. There wasn't much to go on but I would make it work.
I was a witch after all.