A Magical Scheme

Chapter 6: A New Partner

Morgan

Lukas was unexpected. Odd. Abnormal. He was a breath of fresh air in a smoke-filled room or a pocket of light at the bottom of the ocean. He visited me for a few hours and told me about the rival hunters that had arrived, I was already worried. The two of us were still seated in my living room when I felt the wards along my property absorb an entity: we had a visitor. I immediately froze, "Lukas, you need to hide, now." I spoke softly to not alarm him, but he was already standing up and alert. I grabbed his arm and pulled him through my house to the large pantry, and I shoved him inside. Before he could object I said, "I don't know who's here, but they won't like the looks of you, just stay here until I know the coast is clear." I flashed him a quick smile and before he could return one, I slid the pantry door closed. Hopefully, he wasn't too claustrophobic. I looked down and straightened out my dress while bringing the teacups back into the kitchen, reorganizing the living room with a few flicks of the wrist. I heard a soft knock on the door as I floated over and opened it. Circe stood in the doorway, her blond hair was in a high tight ponytail on her head, her red eyes shone like hot coals. She wore a figure-hugging white dress, sleeves down to the wrist and skirt hitting the mid of her thighs. "Sister. We have urgent business." I nodded and gestured for her to come in. She took her seat along my couch and I sat next to her. "High Priestess, if I may, what makes for this surprise visit?" Circe looked at her feet, a pair of nude heels lay on them. "Formalities are no longer needed, another sister is dead, Sister Catalina. She wasn't from our coven or any coven at all, but she was found near Mount Cohn, She hadn't been dead long, but what was odd was that she had been stabbed- with a small but sharp dagger to the heart." I took a sharp breath, "Any witch worth her stones would have been able to deflect a knife or force it away." Circe nodded in agreement, her lips in a tight frown. "No one else knows about Catalina, and I'd like to keep it that way, however, this moves our timeline up. We have to find out who's doing this, and why they wish to blame it on hunters." "You're right- I'll try to find as many more leads as possible, but where do I start? Is there a connection between Locasta and Catalina?" Circe shook her head, "Not that we know of, Catalina's house is down by Richard Bay-" Then Circe grabbed my wrist and closed her eyes. Suddenly a vision of a little blue beach house came into my mind, with a bright green yard on the edge of a high cliff. "Think of this, it'll save you some travel time." She said with a wink, pulling away from me. I nodded, "What should I look for in particular?" She shrugged, "Honestly, anything that would connect the two of them or any suspicious objects." "Okay, I'll go there in the morning at first light." Circe shook her head as she stood up, "No, you should go now. Get this wrapped up as soon as possible." I clenched my teeth, thinking of Lukas hiding in the pantry. "Okay, okay, I'll get my things ready." Circe gave a weak smile, "May the powers watch over you sister." She spoke as she gracefully left the house, closing the door gently behind her. I released a breath I didn't realize I had been holding and leaned up against my door.

After a few minutes, I waltzed back into the kitchen and opened the pantry. Lukas was standing perfectly still, he looked flushed when I opened the door- as if he had been embarrassed. "I've never hidden in a women's pantry before," he spoke, stepping into the kitchen. "Well, there's a first for everything," I replied, he gave a soft chuckle. I looked down at my feet, "I need to go do some more- investigating. I think it might be time for you to leave." I looked back up at him. He had a small frown on his face, before suddenly lifting his chin up, "What if I went with you? Two pairs of eyes are better than one you know...." Lukas's voice was intoxicating, it's as if it was lined with sugar and the words rolled off his tongue like sweet molasses. I smiled, it would be nice to have an extra pair of eyes, and he didn't seem to hate me- or my kind. I gave it another second before I straightened my posture and said, "Sure, okay. Okay, but, leave all of the witchy stuff to me." He nodded. Quickly I told him to stay in place as I ran upstairs and reached for my satchel, and my thick black cloak.